A Magical Mission
by MurasakiYasu
Summary: Harry Potter X Naruto Crossover! Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi are on a mission at Hogwarts to protect Harry Potter but is it too much to hope that the enemy won't notice their presence? SasuNaruSasu and hopefully later Drarry.
1. Off to School

**Story Notes:**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter (it would not be safe if I did)

**Warnings:** Yaoi/shonen ai/BL (what ever you want to call it), swearing, Japanese (I will include translations)

**Translations:** (As I will probably be using little bits of Japanese to show that the Naruto cast are swapping between Japanese and English)

_Ano_ – Um

_Nani_ – What

_Sugoi_ – Amazing

_Ikusei_ – Let's go

_Ite_ - Ouch

_Teme_ – Bastard/Sasuke

_Baka_ – Idiot/Stupid

_Dobe_ – Moron/Idiot/Dead last/Naruto

_Sou ga_ – I see

_Uruse_ – Shut up

_Usuratonkachi_ – Moron etc.

**Code: **_Japanese (but also emphasis),_ English.

**Chapter 1**

Looking around Kings Cross Station Naruto scratched the back of his neck in puzzlement.

"_Ano, Sakura, are you sure you got the platform number right_?" he asked tentatively, it was always safer to be careful with what you said around the fiery tempered kunoichi.

"_Yes!_" she snapped. "_It says right here on the tickets Kakashi-sensei gave us: Hogwarts Express, Platform 9 ¾!_" she was getting more and more pissed off by the second.

Sasuke stood the tallest of the three ninja. He was watching the crowds move around them very carefully. Then suddenly he wasn't standing beside his team mates any more. Sakura and Naruto looked on as Sasuke leaned against a wall looking thoroughly uninterested in everything (a skill Sasuke was only too good at). But Naruto had been Sasuke's team mate too long not to recognise that look: he was listening, hard. Nearby there was a ticket barrier and in front of it stood a large group of people all of whom had flaming red hair. Whatever they were discussing appeared to have Sasuke thoroughly hooked.

"_What is he doing? We have to find platform 9 ¾ now! The train leaves in five minutes!_" hissed Sakura.

Naruto turned to stop her from interfering; she just couldn't read Sasuke like he could! When he turned back the red-headed family were gone and Sasuke was stood in front of the ticket barrier staring at it with such an intensity it was as though he was trying to melt it with his eyes. He turned slightly towards the other two and summoned them to him with a flick of his head that set black bangs waving.

Hitching up his large backpack Naruto marched over to the raven haired teen not bothering to check if Sakura was following; he knew she was.

"_Through here._" Sasuke said gesturing at the very solid looking barrier.

"_Nani?!_" Exclaimed Naruto.

But before he could protest further Sasuke had grabbed both Naruto and Sakura's wrists and dragged them through the barrier. Naruto was thoroughly shocked when he didn't crash into the barrier and Sakura gave a cry of amazement.

"_I saw that family of wizards do it._" Sasuke told them in answer to Naruto's questioning look. "_And if you don't close your mouth, Naruto, I'm going to put something in it._"

Naruto closed his gaping jaw before smiling slyly. "_Oh yeah?_"

"_Yeah,_" answered Sasuke shortly, though he had a small blush on his face as he turned to survey Platform 9 ¾.

Naruto let out a low whistle at the sight of the magnificent, scarlet steam engine. "_Sugoi! Ikusei!_" he shouted making to run towards the Hogwarts Express only to be pulled back by a firm hand on the strap of his rucksack. "_Ite!_" He whined scowling at Sasuke. "_Sasuke-teme!_"

"_Calm down, Dobe, this is a mission not some bizarre school trip. Think like a ninja for once in your life!_"

"_I do think like a ninja! I'm the best ninja there is! Believe it!_" he shouted, causing a few nearby students to stare.

"_Then stop shouting about being a ninja, baka!_" shouted Sakura just as loudly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, hoping no one nearby could speak Japanese. Naruto was being extra loud due to the excitement of starting a new mission in a foreign country and in a world filled with magic no less. Sasuke started towards the train not really caring whether the others were following. He quickly located an empty compartment and pushed the door closed in Naruto's face. Naruto held his nose and moaned loudly as he sat down.

"_Ano, you guys, do you think maybe our disguises weren't complete enough?_" Sakura asked quietly, regarding her muggle clothes with despair. They had all had to change out of their ANBU outfits to avoid unnecessary attention and it had taken her ages to find an outfit she liked that was also practical for a ninja. In the end she had settled for sewing extra weapons pockets throughout her lumpy jacket and carrying kunai in her new boots, which she felt went rather well with her miniskirt.

"_What makes you say that Sakura-chan?_" Naruto asked innocently, he wore baggy jeans, an orange t-shirt and also had a rather lumpy jacket. Sasuke had forbidden him from wearing his old orange jumpsuit again.

"_Well, people kept staring at me._"

"_It's your hair._" Sasuke told her flatly, his clothes were also quite plain but out of all of them, Sakura felt, he most resembled the classic idea of a ninja. With a black polo neck jumper and tight back jeans, all he needed was a balaclava.

"_Sou ga._" She said slowly with a look of dawning comprehension.

Naruto frowned; he knew if he'd said that she'd have hit him. She still treated Sasuke preferentially after all this time and in this situation. He and Sasuke had been together for nearly a year now and even if they only acted like friends (bickering friends) in public, he knew Sakura was more than aware of their relationship having walked in on them previously. He shifted a little closer to Sasuke on the worn train seat.

"_So… should we hunt out this Potter-san now or wait till we get to the school?_" he asked Sasuke.

Sasuke was the unofficial leader of their ANBU squad whilst Kakashi-sensei wasn't present. Kakashi had agreed to transfer back into the ANBU black ops when the last of his team to be promoted (Sakura) had become a member of the elite ANBU. As Kakashi was supposed to be meeting them at Hogwarts this was one of those times when the other two turned to Sasuke for instruction.

"_Hm, we need to get close to him so we had best start now. One of us should stay here though, Naruto, that should be you._"

"_No. I'm coming with you. Sakura can stay._" Naruto may look to Sasuke for instruction but that didn't mean he'd do whatever the bastard said!

"_Naruto…_" Sasuke growled at the stubborn blond boy who was glaring at him. "_Sakura would be best, girls are good at pretending to be friendly._"

"_I don't need to pretend! I am friendly!_" protested Naruto.

"_Its okay, I'll stay,_" Sakura said quickly, it really wouldn't be very good for their cover if the boys started drawing weapons (which wouldn't be unusual for the two).

So Naruto and Sasuke made their way up the swaying train. Naruto frowned at the look on Sasuke's face; the Uchiha wasn't good when it came to motion sickness. The two shinobi peeked surreptitiously into the compartments they passed. They had only a brief description of who they where looking for: black hair, green eyes, glasses and something about a scar on his forehead.

Suddenly the train gave an extra lurch and Sasuke, already off-balance with his motion sickness, made a grab for a nearby compartment door to steady himself. Naruto quickly hooked his boyfriends arm over his shoulder, ignoring Sasuke's proud glare, and pulled the compartment door open. He pushed Sasuke down on one the seats and knelt before him.

"_Ano… _excuse us," Naruto tossed over his shoulder struggling only slightly with the English Kakashi had drilled into him. "He just needs to sit down for a sec."

"Urgh, he's not going to be sick is he? Because if so, you can get out right now!"

Naruto turned to the boy who had spoken, he had ginger hair, a lot of freckles and a rather long nose. Before he could answer, Sasuke spoke, but his reply wasn't as cold as Naruto's had been about to be.

"I'm fine." He said simply with only a hint of his Japanese accent, no insult, no scathing remark, not even a sarcastic comment.

Naruto turned back to his boyfriend, with surprise written all over his tanned face. But Sasuke wasn't even looking at the ginger boy he was staring calculatingly at a boy with black hair and glasses. Suddenly Naruto understood Sasuke's unusual lack of attitude.

'Way to go Sasuke! Always the professional! Already working on getting close to the target!' Inner Naruto cheered his boyfriend on.

"Oh good," said a girl with bushy brown hair sitting beside the ginger boy. "I'm Hermione Granger by the way, and this is Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, what are your names?"

"Uzu- I mean Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said, remembering the name order at the last minute, "and this is Sasuke Uchiha we're new this year."

"Foreign transfer students," she said picking up on Naruto's accent immediately. "Where are you from?"

"Japan."

"Wow, that's a long way!"

"Yeah and he wasn't much better on the flight either!" Naruto said happily nodding at Sasuke.

"Shut up," growled Sasuke, hitting Naruto on the head.

"Why didn't you just use floo powder? Or schedule a portkey?"

"A what?" Naruto asked before he could help himself.

"_Uruse usuratonkachi! Think before you open your mouth, we covered all this magical stuff with Tsunade, remember?_" Sasuke hissed in rapid Japanese, Ron raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

When Sasuke reverted back to English his voice was no longer hostile, though Naruto could tell he was still rather tense. "Those methods of transport would agree with me even less." Sasuke told Hermione, pulling a face to exaggerate the point. "So you're the famous Harry Potter, eh?" He asked turning to the, so far silent, boy by the window. Sasuke decided they needed a less dangerous topic than their origins and, of course, questions about Harry's standing in the magical world would be expected.

Harry sighed. "Yeah." He sounded tired and Sasuke could tell he didn't enjoy fame.

"Cool!" said Naruto happily. "Well hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of you this year!" He smiled brightly and Harry couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah, depends which house you're in though. I suppose you don't know yet?"

"Yeah we do!"

Sasuke was close to hitting him again, he was revealing way more information than necessary. Kakashi had already talked to Dumbledore and worked out which houses they would be in. Dumbledore had explained that it would be suspicious if each of them didn't display the correct characteristics for the house they were in. So Dumbledore had explained to their sensei how the students were sorted and Kakashi had chosen where they would be positioned. They had their bases pretty much covered. The three of them would be taking the same classes as Harry and, although they were not _expected _to learn magic, Sakura was already looking forward to learning _some_. The teachers had been informed of the true circumstances for their presence this year but the students believed that the three Konoha teenagers were there to observe in the interest of sending more foreigners to Hogwarts. It was a well formed cover but at this rate Naruto was going to blow it. They were allowed to tell Harry they were here to guard them but Sasuke had heard nothing about these other two.

"What he means is," he cut in, setting a warning hand on Naruto's shoulder, "that we know which houses we _think_ we'll be in. But of course we can't be sure until we get there."

"Yeah, that's what I meant!" added Naruto quickly.

"Which houses do you _think_ you'll be in then?"

"I'm going to be in Gryffindor," said Naruto proudly. "Because I'm brave!"

"We're in Gryffindor too."

"Great!" Naruto pretended he hadn't known already.

"What about you, Sasuke?" asked Hermione.

"Slytherin, most probably." Sasuke told them.

He hadn't, however, been prepared for their reactions. Harry frowned at him, whereas Ron immediately leaned away as though he might catch something. Hermione looked a little awkward.

"Problem?" Sasuke asked, his voice was polite but his eyes were deadly cold.

"Of course not," Hermione said quickly. "But you might not be sorted into Slytherin after all." She consoled.

"Hn." Replied Sasuke.

"And I think," Naruto continued, "that our other friend, Sakura Haruno, will probably be in Ravenclaw, because she's really smart!"

"Hermione's really smart, but she's in Gryffindor with us." Said Ron proudly, he talked directly to Naruto, taking care not to look at Sasuke.

Naruto saw Hermione's cheek redden and turned to her, "Really? You might get along quite well then."

"Yeah, we'll see," said Hermione, with a smile, looking down at Naruto's happy and open face where he still sat on the floor. Looking up at Sasuke she saw such a contrast it was hard to believe they were friends, yet they acted like it. Sasuke's expression was guarded and sly, she could easily see him fitting in quite comfortably with the Slytherins. "Well we should all probably change into our school robes now. I expect we'll see you at Hogwarts."

Naruto and Sasuke took this as their cue to leave. Back in their own compartment Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura changed into their Hogwarts robes. It took them a while to transfer their weapons into the hidden pockets within their robes and Sasuke had to help Naruto with his school tie. Sasuke swung the shoulder strap of what appeared to be a musical instrument case, over his shoulder and Sakura pulled her small backpack on, it was full of medical supplies and she preferred to keep it with her.

When they reached Hogsmeade station they jumped from the train, Naruto and Sasuke wearing large rucksacks and Sakura with her small medical pack as she towed her heavy trunk down the platform. They followed the crowds towards a number of coaches pulled by skeletal looking, winged horses. Most of the students didn't even spare a glance for the strange creatures so Naruto supposed they were just used to them by now.

Naruto pointed out the carriage that Harry and his friends had just climbed into and Sasuke nodded. "_Time for you to meet and greet too, Sakura._"

Naruto stuck his head into the carriage with a wide grin. "Is it okay if we join you guys?"

Harry and Ron looked a little taken aback, but Hermione smiled nicely at the cute boy. "Sure," she said cheerfully, Naruto seemed like a nice guy even if Sasuke was a little weird.

The Hogwarts trio watched as Naruto and Sasuke climbed into the carriage followed by a pretty girl with pink hair. Hermione put two and two together and immediately came up with 'Sakura'. Naruto and Sakura talked with the English teenagers and Sasuke's presence was pointedly ignored by Ron who seemed to have taken umbrage with Sasuke over the fact that he was to be a Slytherin. This annoyed Sasuke and he had to constantly remind himself that he didn't have to like the jerk, just pretend to be friendly and… well, normal. The carriage was small with six people in it and Naruto found he was quite comfortably squashed against Sasuke.

"What are those weird horses out there?" asked Naruto suddenly.

Harry looked at him in surprise. "You can see them?"

"Of course we can," said Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke nodded. "Why wouldn't we be able to see them?"

"Because only people who have seen death can see the thestrals." Hermione explained.

"Thestrals, eh?" Sakura said thoughtfully, glancing out of the carriage window at the bony back of one of the thestrals.

"Yeah, so you've all seen death?" asked Ron.

"Yeah! Of course we've seen death!" said Naruto lightly.

He was about to elaborate when Sakura hit him hard. "Yes, unfortunately we have." She said with a sad smile.

Sasuke was thankful Sakura was so quick off the mark, he was going to have to remind Naruto (yet again) that they were supposed to be undercover. Of course it would be unusual for these people to see someone die, but as ninja you laid your life on the line everyday. However these people didn't know that they were ninja, so far they just thought they were Japanese transfer students with tragic pasts. Well, Sasuke thought, they could live with that.

They passed through the high stone pillars topped with statues of wild boars and the carriages continued up the path to the main doors. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura gapped at the ancient castle (or at least Naruto and Sakura did whilst Sasuke was politely awed) and Harry, Ron and Hermione looked between the school and their new classmates with expressions of pride. Hogwarts never ceased to amaze.

**Authors Note:**

Right, well I know this isn't exactly an original idea but I've had this chapter sitting on my computer for ages so I figure I may as well post it. I people like it I'll continue it. Or even if people don't like but I still feel like writing it, then I will. I'm not entirely sure yet but I had fun writing this first chapter so if you had fun reading it please review! Hope the Japanese isn't too confusing. Ja!


	2. New Faces

**Authors Note:** Heh, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of response I got to the first chapter of this story, so here's another chapter...

* * *

Naruto gaped up at the hundreds of tiny lights glimmering from the castle windows. The huge main doors of Hogwarts reminded Naruto strongly of those at the entrance of the Hidden Village of Konoha. The three ninja of Konoha walked into the entrance hall, still trying to get used to the uncomfortable and impractical school robes. Honestly how did anyone expect them to fight in these stupid outfits? It would be as bad as trying to spar in a full kimono!

The three ninja were just about to follow Harry, Ron and Hermione through another set of huge doors, when a stern old woman in emerald green robes ushered them over and through a smaller set of doors into a room lined with paintings.

Naruto once again gaped and Sakura gasped whilst Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. The people in the paintings were moving!

"Right then," said the witch, drawing their attention away from the peculiar paintings, "I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and Head of Gryffindor House." She said in a brisk tone that suggested she was not one to cross. "I know who you are and of your circumstances. You stand here now so that others will believe you were Sorted in this room."

"Sorted?" asked Naruto, tilting his head on one side in a gesture that no one could deny was cute and very un-ninja-like.

"Yes, you will see what I mean when the first years are sorted in front of the school in a minute. I have very little time to spare as I need to take the hat," Sasuke frowned and Naruto and Sakura looked puzzled, "into the hall when the first years arrive from the boats." Again there was more frowning and puzzled looks: what boats? We came in carriages.

It was becoming quickly apparent to Sasuke that their briefing had not been nearly detailed enough. 'Stupid drunk Hokage!' First they'd nearly missed the train and now there was moving paintings and what was this 'Sorting' thing about? Sakura found the new surroundings amazing if not rather daunting and resolved to do some serious research on the magical world as soon as possible.

"You will kindly follow me into the Great Hall and sit at your house tables. Gryffindor's house colours are red and gold, Ravenclaw's are blue and bronze and Slytherin's are green and silver."

With that she turned and led them out of the small chamber and across the entrance hall to where loud and comfortable chatter echoed from the doors out of what Sasuke presumed was the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was filled with black robed students sitting along four long tables. The ceiling was another thing that Sakura immediately added to her list of things to research. Naruto didn't know where to look, the weird ceiling, the hundreds of candles floating above them, the hundreds of students sitting around them, or the glittering golden plates.

'That's got to be the wizard equivalent to a genjutsu,' thought Sasuke, looking at the ceiling which resembled the night sky outside, with his sharingan.

They soon saw why she had told them their house colours. At each of the four tables sat students in black robes, but splashes of the house colours could be seen here and there. Stopping near the entrance the three stood together as Professor McGonagall walked up towards the end table which Sakura thought was probably the teachers table.

"_We should go to our tables. Shame we can't sit together without drawing attention._" Sakura said to the other two.

Sasuke cast a warning glance at Naruto. "_Sit with Harry. Don't do anything to draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Don't reveal our ignorance of their ways. Think before you speak._" He spoke in short clipped tones. "_And be friendly, that part you should at least find easy._"

Naruto smiled a genuine smile at the compliment hidden in a whole pile of insults towards his intelligence. He wasn't stupid he just… well, didn't tend to think before he spoke. "_Yes Sir!_" Naruto replied with a mocking salute.

Sasuke scowled and Naruto sobered a little, taking his boyfriends hand discreetly. Sakura shifted a little to hide the gesture from anyone who might be looking their way. "_Don't worry so much, Sasuke, I'll be fine!_" Naruto consoled with a small smile.

"_I was more worried about our cover._" Sasuke muttered, but never the less he gave Naruto's hand a small squeeze before letting go and turning away.

The three parted ways and headed for their respective tables. Sakura settled herself near some friendly looking Ravenclaw girls smiling nicely and introducing herself politely.

Naruto immediately sought out Harry, Ron and Hermione who didn't seem to mind him settling himself beside them. He knew their attitudes would probably have been quite different if Sasuke had been with him and it annoyed him a little that they didn't like his boyfriend.

Sasuke sat silently at the Slytherin table. After assessing the layout of the Great Hall and deciding on the best escape routes and defensive positions, he looked across at his team mates. Sakura was already talking and giggling with a number of Ravenclaw girls, one of whom was saying how much she loved Sakura's hair, 'So… individual!', the girl exclaimed with a bright smile. Naruto was also smiling, talking with Hermione who seemed to have taken a liking to the cute boy.

Sasuke pushed back the stirrings of jealously. He wished he could be the one sitting with Naruto but instead he was a couple of tables away with his fellow Slytherins. He looked down the long table from where he sat near the exit. He was attracting a few curious looks from the boys and more than a few lusty looks from the girls. He sighed, he didn't want fan girls here _too._ But if the worst came to the worst he supposed he could always reveal his and Naruto's relationship. But that really was a last resort. From Ron's reaction towards him, Sasuke guessed that Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't tend to get along, let alone date.

Glancing at Naruto again, Sasuke supposed he should make _some_ effort to socialise. It was against his nature but part of an undercover mission was the acting. He decided against voluntarily talking to _any_ girls. There was a good looking boy nearby who looked about his age. He was blond with blue eyes but not in the cute, sunny way that Naruto was; this boy had white blond hair whereas Naruto's was like sunshine, only brighter, and cold blue-grey eyes when Naruto's were a deep sparkling cerulean blue. He was cold and refined, with an air of superiority and sly cleverness. He seemed to demand attention, the girls who weren't busy looking at Sasuke were clustered around this boy and two heavy set boys sat either side of him like bodyguards.

'That would be the ideal person to get close to in these circumstances.' Sasuke thought. 'He looks like he has a few connections to back up that confidence of his.'

At that moment the pale, blond boy appeared to sense Sasuke's gaze and turned to look him straight in the eye. Sasuke felt he was being sized up and kept his gaze steady and cold. The other boy watched him for a few more seconds before realising Sasuke would not be the first to look away. He smiled. It was not a friendly smile, but it was approving.

"What's your name?" he asked. His friends turned to look at Sasuke too. The boy sounded as though he usually got exactly what he wanted, Sasuke bristled.

"It's polite to give your name first." He answered coldly.

The other boy looked a little taken aback before recovering and scowling. "Alright, fine. My name is Draco Malfoy. What is yours?" He spoke rather stiffly.

"Sasuke Uchiha," was the confident reply.

At that moment the students' attention was called to the doorway where an unnaturally tall and wide man was leading a line of scared looking children down the hallway towards the staff table. Professor McGonagall had just placed an extremely old and worn looking hat on a three legged stool before the table. Naruto watched curiously as everyone's attention was fixed firmly on the hat.

"Harry?" he muttered. "Why is everyone staring at the hat?"

"Just watch," replied Harry with a knowing smile that made Naruto even more curious.

Naruto jumped in surprise when a rip near the hats rim opened and the hat began to sing. Naruto found he could understand most of the words and decided that Kakashi's random English quizzes on the journey over here had done their job. Apparently threats of 'A Thousand Years of Pain no jutsu' really did help when learning a new language. The hat basically sung about the different qualities of each of the houses, but of course Naruto had heard about them already from Kakashi.

Speaking of Kakashi, he had just sidled into the hall through a side entrance and sat down at the staff table. 'He's late!' thought Naruto with a certain lack of surprise. Kakashi sat took the spare seat beside a greasy looking man who gave him the most dirty look Naruto had ever seen. Kakashi appeared to be oblivious to the man's glares but Naruto knew he wasn't; that man had just been added to Kakashi's 'Threat List'.

When the hat was done with its song each of the new students were called up in turn. The ninja watched as a very short and nervous boy sat on the three-legged stool and Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on his head. It covered his eyes completely but Sasuke watched as the boys mouth opened a little, he seemed to be talking, Sasuke frowned.

Suddenly the hat shouted, "Hufflepuff!" the boy took the strange hat off and ran over to the cheering Hufflepuff table on the far side of the hall, almost tripping over but smiling brightly at the warm welcome he was getting.

Sasuke watched carefully as each of the first years were told their houses by a hat. He memorised faces and names for future reference. When the new students had all been 'sorted' by the hat the headmaster stood up. This had to be Professor Dumbledore, Sasuke reasoned, he was just how Tsunade had described him and gave off and aura of power, wisdom and… nuttiness?

"Welcome, one and all, from near and far, to another year of magical learning at Hogwarts. I have start of term announcements but I shall save them until you are all fed and watered. Tuck in!" Dumbledore said in a booming voice. He gave the students a kind smile before sitting down.

Sasuke barely had time to wonder what they we supposed to tuck into when the golden plates before them filled with everything from chicken drumsticks to mint humbugs. He glanced in Naruto's direction just in time to see his boyfriend fall off his bench in surprise. Sasuke smirked; Naruto had never been very good at sensing chakra whereas he, Sasuke, had sensed… something just before the food had arrived. It was difficult to describe but ever since they had arrived at the castle Sasuke had sensed the continuous hum of power. Just before the food arrived he had felt a disturbance in this strange power from directly below them. It was not like their chakra and Sasuke supposed what he was sensing was what these people called 'magic'. It would be interesting to see how they used it in combat. It troubled him to be able to sense this new power all around them but know so little of it.

Naruto was thoroughly enjoying the English food, even if there was a disgraceful lack of ramen. Maybe he could ask for some? 'Damn, I knew I should have packed some instant ramen, but Sasuke-bastard wouldn't let me!' He glared towards the Slytherin table but Sasuke wasn't looking at him, he was talking to a blond haired boy who was wearing what Naruto thought was a rather hungry look. Jealousy shot through him and Naruto turned his glare on the blond boy.

Harry caught Naruto glaring in the direction of the Slytherin table and followed his gaze. He grinned, the animated blond was glaring at Malfoy! Harry immediately decided he could grow to like this guy.

"Something wrong, Naruto?" inquired Hermione, catching the cute boy midglare.

"Who's that blond guy talking to Sasuke?" asked Naruto his eyes not leaving his new rivals face.

"Draco Malfoy," supplied Ron. "He's a slimy git! Isn't he, Harry?"

"Sure is."

"His father's in with You-Know-Who," said Ron, with a significant look.

"I-Know-Who?"

"You don't know who You-Know-Who is?" asked Ron in amazement.

"No, I don't know who You-Know-Who is!" replied Naruto giving a little laugh at how silly they sounded.

"Well I suppose Japan is a long way away…" said Hermione doubtfully.

"How about you give me an actual name and I'll tell you if I've heard of him?" tried Naruto.

Hermione and Ron both gulped and turned to Harry. Naruto ignored their strange behaviour and looked at Harry as well.

"His name is Lord Voldemort." Harry's voice was flat but several people nearby cringed as though they had been burnt.

"Oh, that guy! Yeah, I've heard of him!" said Naruto with a grin. "Why didn't you just say Voldemort in the first place?" He said this quite a bit louder than Harry had and therefore got quite a few more reactions all of which went unnoticed by Naruto.

"Because," said Hermione delicately, "it is not a name that one casually throws around."

"Oh, right… why not?"

"Because of the fear the name alone inspires in the people of the wizarding community."

"Ah, I see. Sorry."

"You weren't to know," said Hermione with a kind smile.

"So that Malfoy guy is connected to Vol… You-Know-Who?"

Naruto scowled back at Malfoy. He would ask Sasuke what they had talked about later. A short while later the desserts faded from their plates. This time Naruto was ready for it, he didn't jump (very much) and even felt a weird chakra surge though he couldn't quite pinpoint it before it was gone again.

At the head of the teachers table the Albus Dumbledore stood up. Sakura sat up a little straighter.

"Well then now you have all eaten your share I have a few notices for you before I allow you to return once more to your dormitories. First years should note that the dark forest in the grounds is forbidden to all students,"

Naruto made a note to remember to check it out, maybe if he could persuade Sasuke…

"Mr Filch has asked me to remind you all that there is to be no magic in the corridors,"

'Does that include jutsu's?'

"We have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year by the name of Professor Hatake,"

Kakashi gave a friendly grin from behind his mask and a small, 'Yo', several girls started giggling.

"And last but not least, we have three guests joining us this year…" said three looked up to find the people around them already giving them curious looks. "They come to us all the way from Japan in the interest of joining us in our quest for magical learning. Please welcome them kindly."

At that several girls winked at Sasuke, much to his dismay, and Sakura was bathed in warm smiles from her fellow Ravenclaw girls. Naruto also got several smiles and caught one girl blushing furiously (she reminded him strongly of Hinata).

"And now off to bed with you all, for you must be at your best in order to make a healthy start to the term tomorrow morning!"

As one, the benches were pushed backwards and the mass of black robes began to flow towards the doors to the entrance hall.

* * *

**Authors Note: **Well I know not a huge amount happened in this chapter, but I do have some stuff planned for the next chapter. Please bear in mind I'm working off of the top of my head here, I have a vague idea of where this story is going but it really is only 'vague'. Please review, I love to hear your thoughts and it inspires me to write!


	3. Ninja?

Naruto was pulled up from his seat by Hermione's firm grip on his arm. As he was jostled out of the hall in a storm of Gryffindor students his eyes searched for Sasuke. He twisted and turned but couldn't see his boyfriend anywhere. Cursing under his breath he followed the Gryffindor witches and wizards up a huge staircase. Naruto soon found himself forgetting about finding his boyfriend as he walked past more moving paintings and them reached... a moving staircase!

The group of Gryffindor's stopped to wait for the staircase to move back to them and Naruto seized his opportunity to push his way to Harry. The dark-haired teen looked unimpressed by the stairs odd behaviour. When the staircase reached them again the students continued their assent to the floors above. As they continued upwards Naruto wondered just how tall this castle was. He saw a first year jump in surprise as one of the staircases decided to move whilst he was on it.

'Shit, Sasuke's going to hate these things!' Naruto thought to himself, though a part of him couldn't wait to play the hero and help his boyfriend out.

After leaving the moving staircases Naruto followed Harry through a tapestry and up another flight of stairs, along several corridors (all of which looked exactly the same) and finally down one corridor ending in a portrait of a fat lady in a ruffled pink dress that filled the entire wall.

"Password?" she enquired.

Naruto jumped a little, he didn't know they spoke too! 'This place is so cool!' Someone at the front of the crowd of Gryffindor's told the portrait the password. Naruto recognised the voice as Hermione's, a second later she told everyone they must remember the password. Naruto decided to ask her what it was later.

Slowly, one by one, the Gryffindor students climbed through a hole behind the portrait. Naruto waited for Harry to climb through before jumping headlong through the gap to perform a neat roll on the other side and stood up again to find Harry giving him an odd look.

"What?" he asked giving the wizard a puzzled look.

"Nothing," muttered Harry turning away. He figured what Naruto had just done was normal in Japan. Still the boy was going to be strange company if he thought that was normal.

Naruto glanced back at the portrait hole and Sasuke's words floated back to him, 'Don't draw attention to yourself.' Several people were giving him funny looks. He smiled brightly at them all and then hurried away up some more stairs after Harry.

The boy's dormitory was a round room with six four-poster beds crammed in. All his dorm mates were already there getting ready for bed. They introduced themselves as Neville, Seamus and Dean. Ron and Harry were also there, Ron complaining about all the maroon socks his mother had made him pack.

Naruto pulled off his outer robes being careful to hide his many weapons. A scroll fell out on the floor and rolled over to the next bed. Naruto watched tensely as Harry picked it up.

"You dropped your... erm scroll," he said uncertainly moving to hand it back when Ron grabbed it out of his hand.

"Woah, do you actually write on these things?" he asked examining it carefully. "How weird!"

Naruto just nodded. He felt relieved; it was safe, of course they wouldn't have a clue about the real use of scrolls, just like he didn't have a clue as to the idea behind the pointy sticks these guys had all placed carefully on there bedside cabinets. Sure Tsunade had explained that these 'wands' were the source of their powers but Naruto had trouble seeing how a flimsy piece of wood could be so powerful.

Naruto listened carefully to the breathing of his room mates until one by one they seemed to drift into sleep. He sat up and reached for the end of his bed. Pulling the covers off his feet he revealed the basic weapons he wore on a day-to-day basis. He fastened on his thigh holster and weapons belt, he still wore his ANBU stab vest under his pyjama's, as was regulation. Weapons secure he listened for a second to the breathing of his room mates before slipping through the curtains.

"Who exactly are you?"

Naruto froze. Before him stood Harry illuminated by the moonlight pouring through the open tower window. The boy brandished one of those ever so dangerous looking sticks. Naruto tried desperately to crush his instinct to fight the boy. Naruto's commonly suppressed 'Voice of Reason', that sounded suspiciously like Sasuke, reminded him that it was the height of idiocy to fight an unknown weapon when there were other options.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he answered quietly.

"Well I know that," snapped Harry, trying to keep his voice down to prevent waking the others. Naruto was grateful.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto an elite ninja from the Hidden Village of Konoha," Naruto said truthfully; they were allowed to tell Harry the real deal and now seemed like the perfect time to have that chat.

"... Did you say 'ninja'?"

"Yeah I did."

"Well this is new," Harry gave a bitter laugh. "That bastard's decided Death Eaters aren't enough and now wants to bring in some Japanese martial artist!" he paused, "Hang on that means... Sasuke and Sakura too? I can picture Sasuke as a ninja but not the pink-haired girl."

Naruto was a little shocked, who did Harry think had sent them? The name Death Eaters rang a bell, he was sure Sasuke would know. Speak of the devil, Naruto suddenly felt a familiar chakra close by, he would have felt it before if it weren't for the interference of this castle's weird chakra aura. Now if he could just pinpoint where Sasuke was...

He was at the window. Before Naruto could stop him Sasuke had slipped inside like a shadow. Harry caught Naruto's eyes flicker towards the window but he was too late. Sasuke had clamped his hand over the boys mouth using his other arm to hold the boys empty hand at his side. Harry's eyes widened behind his round glasses and Naruto took his chance to knock Harry's wand from his hand. Naruto quickly jumped to hold both of Harry's wrists and Sasuke turned the boys head so Harry was looking directly into sharingan eyes. His struggling was cut short as he fell unconscious. Sasuke let Naruto take the weight of the unconscious teen.

"_On the roof_," muttered Sasuke preferring to use Japanese.

Turning away Sasuke left the way he'd come with Naruto following close behind. Sasuke was already sat comfortably on the battlements when Naruto arrived, awkwardly carrying the dead weight of Harry.

"_Wasn't that a little harsh?_" asked Naruto laying Harry down between where the battlements were and where the pointed roof began.

"_It was necessary, besides it wasn't strong; he'll wake up in a few minutes. So tell me whilst we have the chance, what did you say to make him so hostile?_"

"_Why do you assume it was something I said?_" asked Naruto feeling rather offended.

"_Fine, what was it you_ did?" Sasuke asked calmly.

"_I don't know!_" said Naruto loudly. "_I just got out of bed planning to come up here and get good view of the grounds, you know for strategic purposes, and he was there with his stupid wand nearly poking my eye out!"_

"_Keep it down a little,_" said Sasuke as Harry stirred. "_Do you think he heard you getting all your weapons ready?_" Sasuke motioned to Naruto's thigh holster.

"_... Maybe,_" Naruto admitted sheepishly. "_Damn I swear I listened so closely; I thought they were all asleep_."

"_Well I guess it's not the end of the world, since no one else heard, right?"_

_"Right,_" Naruto agreed, glad Sasuke was being so reasonable about this.

"_Then I think we have some explaining to do_," Sasuke looked down at Harry with a tired sigh; this wasn't what he'd planned on doing tonight.

_"I already told him I was a ninja, and he said something about some bastard deciding Death Eaters weren't enough or something..."_

"_Kuso, so he thinks Voldemort sent us? Why didn't you explain that we're his guards?"_

_"Well he never mentioned that Voldemort guy and I couldn't remember what Death Eaters were..."_

_"Baka! They're Voldemort's army!"_

_"Oh... do you think we should hold him down so he doesn't attack us when he wakes up."_

_"To be on the safe side,"_ Sasuke replied, the boy was unarmed but it would be easier if they could keep him from waking up the rest of the Gryffindor boys.

Naruto moved to Harry's side and rested his hands over the boys wrists. He felt rather stupid for a moment before, sure enough, the effects of Sasuke's sharingan wore off. Harry gave the pair a panicked look and opened his mouth only to have Sasuke's hand prevent him from shouting out again.

"We need you to listen to us for a moment Harry," Sasuke began in a tone of perfect calm. "You seem to have mistaken us for the enemy. We are not in the employment of Voldemort, much the opposite, we are here on a mission to protect you under the order of Albus Dumbledore."

Harry looked at him suspiciously and instead turned to Naruto to confirm the Slytherin's words.

"It's true. You must have thought I was attacking you or something? I was only planning to come out here to get a scope of the grounds. Sorry if I scared you."

Harry still looked suspicious but Naruto noted he wasn't struggling anymore.

"Hey Sasuke I think we can let him speak now."

Sasuke frowned, "Don't go shouting out or I'll have to find a better way to silence you."

Harry's eyes widened, "What he means is..." cut in Naruto, "We don't want to blow our cover by being found up here with you."

Sasuke removed his hand and Harry let out a relieved sigh, "I suppose all this is simply to protect your cover?" he asked referring to the semi-kidnapping incident.

"Er... yeah, sorry about all this. Are you going to attack us if I let go?"

"I'm not stupid enough to try something like that against two armed... er... ninja."

Naruto nodded happily and let go of Harry's wrists. Harry rubbed the sore skin, "Strong grip you've got there and what the hell was the deal with your eyes?!" he said glaring at Sasuke.

"You don't need to know." Sasuke told him sternly.

"It's just a... skill of his."

"Great, just great. So Dumbledore hired you?"

"Yeah."

"Don't think I won't be checking up on that later. Bloody hell he could have given me a little warning!"

"He left that up to us, and I guess I didn't do a brilliant job there..."

"Hn."

"_Uruse teme!_" huffed Naruto reverting back to Japanese out of habit.

"Er... right. So anyway, do you think you could give me a hand getting back inside?" asked Harry looking dubiously over the edge of the tower. 'Seriously, how did they even get me up here? As a matter of fact how did Sasuke get up to the tower window in the first place?'

"Oh yeah, sure!" Naruto jumped up, his fast movements this high up making Harry feel queasy, and turned around. "Get on my back!"

"What?"

"Or I could carry you fireman style like I did to get you up here...?" Naruto offered.

"I'll get on your back," said Harry quickly, he thought he caught Sasuke smirking but the next second the Slytherin's face was back to it's normal stoic mask.

The climb down was awkward and Harry had to restrain himself from looking down. It wasn't the height he had a problem with, or he wouldn't be much of a Quidditch player. No, what he didn't like was the fact that his fate was in the hands of a guy he had known less than a day rather than his trusty Firebolt. How Sasuke had reached the window soon became clear to Harry as Naruto's feet seemed to stick to the wall. 'How does he do that?' Harry wondered as Naruto swung him off his back on the windowsill.

"Sleep well," said Naruto moving away from the window again.

"Don't ninja sleep?" Harry asked.

"Of course we do! We're human's just like you, we just train our talents differently. I need to talk to Sasuke so I'll go to bed later."

Naruto hurried back up to the roof to find Sasuke lying on the sloping roof propped there by his feet against the battlements. Naruto moved to sit on the flat between the roof and the battlements and Sasuke slid down the tiles to join him.

_"Well that could have gone worse_," said Sasuke.

"_Since when are you such an optimist?_" teased Naruto.

"_Hn._"

Naruto moved closer and Sasuke put his arm around him. Leaning his head on his boyfriends chest Naruto listened to the steady beat of Sasuke's heart. It was a comforting sound that soothed the anxiety that had built up within him since they had travelled across the world to a place where everything was a different as it could possibly be. Nothing was the same here, not ramen nor chakra. Naruto sighed heavily.

"_What's wrong?_" asked Sasuke immediately, it was unsettling for him if Naruto was not himself.

"_I'm just thinking... how are we supposed to do this mission? Protect some 'wizard' from unknown threats. I mean we have no idea what we're up against!_" Naruto's voice had risen as he spoke.

Sasuke sighed too, "_I know... I think we need to have a really good talk with Harry as soon as possible. He's lived in this world so he can give us the information we need._"

Naruto was only half consoled by Sasuke's logical answer so he cuddled closer taking Sasuke's hand in his, seeking physical reassurance. Sasuke ran his fingers through Naruto's blond hair in a gesture that calmed both their frazzled nerves. After a long time sat like this under the stars Naruto finally broke the silence.

"_Where are the Slytherin headquarters?_"

"_Dungeons._"

"_Nasty! How did you get out of there?_"

"_It's called stealth, ninja have it._"

Naruto scowled at the insult but Sasuke just smirked.

"_Teme!_"


	4. A Good Start

**Authors Note: **cough I'm really sorry it takes me so long to update this one, I don't think I really have a very good excuse either so I'll just apologise. I've had some people ask me how they learnt English so fast and I'll ask you to assume they already knew quite a lot and just needed to revise it. I also have a question for everyone but I'll save that until the end.

**Translations: **Ano Um, Dobe dumbass/dead last/Naruto, Teme Bastard/Sasuke, Nani What. _Italics is Japanese._

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke had stayed out on the roof 'getting a look at the grounds' for a long time so next morning Naruto found himself being kicked out of bed by Harry telling him he'd missed breakfast and needed to get to class.

With much swearing and grumbling, most of which Harry didn't understand, Naruto dressed in his awkward new Hogwarts robes. As he turned to equip himself he found Harry sitting on the end of his bed examining his weapons. The boy was holding a shuriken between his fingers.

"Just like on the movies..." he murmured.

"There are movies about us?" Naruto asked as he fixed his leg holster on and took the shuriken from Harry.

"Of course! I'd show you but electronic stuff doesn't work around Hogwarts." He looked a little disappointed. "Anyway we really need to hurry or Snape will boil us alive."

"Who's Snape?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

As they left the common room Naruto wondered about these movies, 'If our villages are hidden how is it these people have movies about us?' When they reached the moving staircases again Harry rushed down them at speeds Naruto hadn't thought possible without the help of chakra. Naruto looked over the edge of the banister; it was a long way down and Harry obviously didn't want to be late.

"Hey, Harry, if you jump on my back again I can make the journey quicker."

Harry skidded to a halt to give Naruto a dubious look. He seemed reluctant but with another glance at his watch he consented. With Harry holding onto him with a vice like grip Naruto sent chakra to his feet and ran down the wall so fast that passing students barely felt a breeze.

When they arrived in the main dungeon corridor Harry lent against the wall his legs shaking.

"Next time I think I'd rather be late."

"Which way now?"

Harry led the way to where their potions class was filing into Snape's dungeon classroom.

"Potter! Uzumaki! Why are you late?" barked Snape as the two ran into the classroom behind the rest of the class.

"We're not!" shouted Naruto immediately. He then yelped as Harry stamped on his foot.

"Are you arguing with me Uzumaki?" asked Snape quietly as he swooped down on the indignant ninja.

Harry was now glaring pointedly at him but Naruto seemed not to notice. "No, I'm just saying that we are here and therefore not late!" Naruto continued, glaring up at the scowling potions master. 'What is with this guy? We were so on time!'

"You must think being new here is an excuse for tardiness, hmm? Well it is not! Ten points from Gryffindor each for being late and an extra twenty for your cheek." he breathed in Naruto's face.

Naruto opened his mouth to complain about the unfairness but Sasuke was at his side in an instant with a warning hand on his shoulder. Naruto huffed, unconsciously pouting as Sasuke forced him to turn towards his seat. Naruto tried to turn back when he caught sight of Snape's smug face but Sasuke growled warningly at him.

"_Dobe..._"

"_Yeah, yeah._"

Sasuke sat next to him with Harry, Ron and Hermione on the Gryffindor side of the room. Naruto appreciated the small gesture of support that would surely get him on the wrong side of the Slytherin's. But when he glanced over he saw mostly shocked expressions.

Naruto and Sasuke left the potions class after their double lesson in confusion. One thing was certain; potions made no sense whatsoever. Naruto didn't understand how stirring once clockwise then twice anticlockwise, could produce completely different results from stirring once each way. It all seemed so ridiculous!

Sasuke left the Gryffindor's at the entrance hall to follow Malfoy into the courtyard. He knew Naruto would understand; he had already spent too much time in the Gryffindor's company. Sure enough Malfoy sought him out during morning break.

"What is he to you?" the blond boy asked, leaning against the wall beside Sasuke.

"I assume you mean Naruto," replied Sasuke coldly.

Malfoy nodded, "You two seem... close."

Sasuke stiffened, "He is my friend."

Malfoy nodded again.

For the rest of the day Naruto stayed with Harry and Sasuke with Malfoy. They talked to Sakura at lunchtime and it turned out she was having a brilliant time with the Ravenclaw girls.

"They all seem really nice and I've learnt a lot about the wizarding world! And... about the houses." she said giving Sasuke a pointed look.

"What did you learn?"

"A little about why Slytherin is such an unpopular house to be in. Apparently it has a reputation for turning out 'dark wizards' just like this Voldemort guy."

Sasuke nodded in understanding casting an eye over his fellow Slytherin's. The three stood near the doors to the great hall as the students ate their lunch. Sasuke fingered his necktie with a frown; the symbol of Slytherin, which was embroidered on his uniform tie, was a snake and it reminded him forcibly of Orochimaru.

Their last lesson of the day was Defence Against the Dark Arts and both Sasuke and Naruto were pleased to discover that Slytherin's and Gryffindor's took this class together. The students arrived to an empty classroom and Sasuke and Naruto were the only ones not surprised at their missing Professor.

"What kind of pathetic teacher can't turn up on time for his first lesson?" complained Malfoy from his seat at the back.

"Expect it on a regular basis," drawled Sasuke taking a seat next to him.

Ten minutes into the lesson there was a poof of smoke at the front of the classroom.(1) It cleared to reveal Kakashi-sensei sitting at his desk as though he'd been there for hours.

"_Kakashi-sensei! You're late!_" shouted Naruto jumping up to point accusingly at their teacher. Several girls giggled, although they didn't know what he had said it was a funny sight to see the vibrant new boy shouting at their masked Professor.

"Ah... Sorry I was late I had to save the caretaker's cat from the giant squid."

"Liar!" shouted Naruto whilst the Hogwarts students looked puzzled at the crazy excuse.

"Expect excuses like that too," muttered Sasuke to Malfoy who raised a barely visible eyebrow in response.

"So let us begin. I am Professor Hatake your new Defence teacher. I am also from Japan so go easy on me, ne?" Kakashi fixed several girls at the front with a warm smile from behind his mask causing them to blush.

Whilst Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had been brushing up on their English on the journey here Kakashi, between threats of 'A Thousand Years of Pain' to Naruto if he didn't stop trying to mess around with Sasuke, had been studying the syllabus. He knew enough to set the students a task for the remainder of the lesson.

As soon as the lesson was over the students rushed from the classroom and headed for their common rooms. Naruto slipped away from Harry, Ron and Hermione, trusting that they would be safe within the walls of Hogwarts. He hurried down the stairs and hid behind a statue as the Slytherin's walked past heading for the dungeons. Sure enough his target strolled along at the back of the group. As Sasuke passed the statue Naruto reached out, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the dark alcove. Sasuke reacted instinctively; with one hand at Naruto's throat and the other grasping his wrist Sasuke had him pinned against the wall before he realised who it was.

Looking into cerulean eyes Sasuke sighed in relief. He let go of Naruto's neck to rest his hand on his boyfriends chest.

"_Nobody sneaks up on the Uchiha genius, eh?_" taunted Naruto.

"_Hn, I'm sure you must have noticed it too; this castles strange chakra aura makes it difficult to sense each other."_

Naruto nodded in agreement. "_I can sense you if I concentrate but I can barely sense Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei at all."_

_"Mmm, same here, probably because we're more in tune with each other."_

Naruto laughed softly, pressing closer to his boyfriend, "_We sure are._"

Sasuke leaned down stealing a quick kiss before pulling away. Naruto made a small noise of disappointment.

"_Want to go train?"_ asked Sasuke, his lips hovering near Naruto's.

Naruto leaned up capturing Sasuke's lips once more. He nipped gently at Sasuke's bottom lip drawing a small gasp from his stoic boyfriend. Satisfied, he pulled away and stepped out of the alcove, Sasuke trailing after him slightly flushed.

"_Where?_" Naruto asked, looking out of a nearby window at the grounds.

"_Remember that grassy pitch we saw last night?_"

"_With those big metal hoops? They did look fun..."_

_"Good for practicing balance..."_

_"Race you there!" _yelled Naruto making a leap for the open window.

But Sasuke was one step ahead of him. Producing a kunai from his sleeve he pinned Naruto's robe to the floor. Naruto fell forward with a loud curse and set about freeing himself as Sasuke leapt out of the window ahead of him. The two boys ran at top speed down the castle wall being careful not to run over any windows for fear of being seen. Naruto returned Sasuke's kunai to him as he caught up with him at the ground. Sasuke caught the knife neatly and they continued their race across the castle grounds towards their new training ground.

As they were nearing the colourful stands Naruto made a mad flying leap, tackling Sasuke to the ground. The two skidded nearly ten feet wrestling each other fiercely. When they leapt back up Sasuke was once again in the lead with Naruto hot on his trail.

Naruto saw Sasuke smirk as he ran into the stadium. Sasuke's face immediately fell at the sight of Naruto standing on the right hand hoop high above him. Naruto grinned widely.

"_And Uzumaki Naruto wins again!"_ he shouted triumphantly.

Their was a poof behind Sasuke as one of Naruto's clones dissipated. Naruto jumped in the air whooping loudly and landing with perfect balance back on his hoop.

"_Again Dobe? Since when do you win?"_

Naruto spun around so quickly he nearly fell off his hoop. "_NANI!?" _he screamed.

Behind him, on the middle and highest hoop stood a smirking Sasuke, eyes red with the Sharingan. Naruto flicked his gaze back to where the losing Sasuke had been standing in time to see several snakes slither away.(2)

"_You cheated with your stupid Sharingan!" _shouted Naruto accusingly.

"_We didn't set out any rules, therefore it was not possible to cheat,"_ replied Sasuke with a smirk.

"_Whatever!"_ Naruto huffed turning away with his arms crossed. Next second there was a sly smile on his face as he flung several shuriken at Sasuke. "_Think fast!"_

"_I always think fast!" _replied Sasuke, deflecting the shuriken with his own kunai before performing a backwards flip onto the far goal hoop.

The two ANBU simultaneously launched themselves towards each other. Jumping between the three hoops they maintained a fury of attacks towards the other. The two were very evenly matched but after 15 minutes Naruto managed to push Sasuke back onto the right hand hoop, with a cry of triumph he made to knock Sasuke off balance. But at the last second Sasuke pushed off hard, performing another back flip towards the stands. Naruto watched as he hit the green Slytherin hangings and fell nearly twenty feet before managing to stop his descent.

Sasuke took a moment to recover from the pain in his hands before clambering up to the seating at the top of the stands. He stood took a fighting stance as Naruto followed him into the stands. Naruto was preparing to attack again when he caught sight of Sasuke's hands. His skin was ripped up and bloody from trying to get a grip on the rough material of the stand's decorative hangings.

"_Cease?_"

Sasuke glanced at his hands before nodding reluctantly.

"_Why weren't you using your Sharingan?"_ Sasuke's eyes had been their usual black since Naruto had accused him of cheating in their race.

"_Makes it fair, doesn't it._" Sasuke muttered as he examined his hands.

Naruto growled at him, "_You don't need to make it fair with me._"

_"Next time I won't bother."_

_"Good! Come on lets find Sakura."_

The two boys walked up to the main entrance at a normal pace both exhausted and sporting many small injuries, Sasuke cradling his sore hands and Naruto limping. They were just wondering how they would find the Ravenclaw common room when they walked past the Great Hall to find dinner in full swing. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other before making their way over to the Ravenclaw table trying to draw as little attention as possible. Sasuke tried to hide his bleeding hands behind his back but the rips in their robes and the cut on Naruto's cheek were harder to hide.

They walked up behind Sakura, "_Ano... Sakura..."_

She turned to find the beaten up pair and her face changed to crimson in a matter of seconds. "_What the hell have you two been doing?!" _she hissed angrily.

"_Sparring."_ said Sasuke shortly.

"Oh my God! You two should go to the hospital wing!" squealed a girl to Sakura's left.

"You're right Katherine, I'll take them right now," said Sakura quickly, standing to usher the boys away before they could attract any more attention.

"But you don't know where it is, do you?" Katherine said, standing up with Sakura.

"Er... I'm sure we can find it," said Sakura awkwardly; they didn't need to go to the hospital wing! They just needed to find somewhere private so she could heal them.

"Don't worry, I'll take you!" the short girl took hold of Sakura and Naruto's elbows leaving Sasuke to follow them. He glared at her back but she didn't seem to notice.

When they got to the hospital wing a fussy woman called Madam Pomfrey ordered them to sit down on the beds. Sakura watched closely as the woman cleaned Sasuke's hands with an oily yellow liquid. Naruto watched his boyfriends expression carefully as Sasuke refused to flinch.

"I can heal the worst of it but your hands will be sore for a few days. I can't imagine how you got such nasty friction burns!" she gave him a pointed look and seemed quite disappointed when he didn't offer an explanation.

With Sasuke's hands bandaged up the matron turned her attention to Naruto's leg. She pulled up his trouser leg to reveal a long gash running down his calf. Sakura raised an eyebrow at Sasuke who looked quite smug. But his smirk disappeared when Madam Pomfrey healed Naruto's cut easily.

"I can heal a clean cut like that but it'll be sore just like your hands," she explained to Sasuke.

When they left the hospital wing Sakura managed to shake Katherine off, thanking her for her help. As soon as the persistent girl was gone, Sasuke turned to Sakura.

"_Can you heal these a bit more?_" he asked, holding out his swollen, red hands.

"_I should let you suffer to teach both a lesson!"_

_"But you wouldn't," _said Naruto pleadingly as he limped over to her.

_"Anyone could have seen you two and it would have led to awkward questions!"_

_"But we didn't use any big jutsu!"_

Sakura scowled for a moment before giving in. Her hands glowed green as she healed the last of the swelling. Sasuke flexed his fingers as Sakura healed Naruto's leg so that it was more comfortable to walk on.

"_You two should be more careful! You don't know who could have seen you!"_ Sakura reprimanded.

"_Well we can't just not train!"_ replied Naruto stubbornly.

"_Where were you training?"_

"_Did you see that big stadium in the grounds?"_

_"You were at the Quidditch pitch?! That place is really open! Anyone could have found you!"_

_"What's Quidditch?" _asked Sasuke.

"_Some crazy sport they play. But seriously you two, you need to find somewhere a bit more secluded to train."_

_"How about there?"_

Sasuke and Sakura turned to see Naruto pointing out of the window at the dark sprawling forest bordering the castle grounds.

* * *

(1)I'm sure the Hogwarts students are used to seeing many strange ways of entering a classroom so they can assume this is some weird Japanese spell

(2)Sasuke's snake clones, I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine this and that he does actually use them in the manga.

**Authors Note: **Now for my question to all you lovely reviewers: I've had quite a lot of people ask if this is going to be Harry/Draco. Now I personally love this pairing and am quite keen on including it but I wanted to ask you readers first because I know some people might not like it. So please review telling me whether or not you approve and I'll make a decision, 'kay? Also if you do approve feel free to bounce ideas off of me!

Ja ne!

Yasu


	5. Forbidden Territory

**A/N: **Again I must apoligise for my slow updates though I admit this one took a ridiculously long time. My only excuse is that I'm in the middle of revising for some really important exams and am working like crazy. So sorry but anyway... enjoy!

* * *

At the end of their first week at Hogwarts Sasuke threw himself into one of the black leather armchairs in his dungeon common room. He leant his head against one arm with his legs over the other and closed his eyes. Concentrating hard he tried to make sense of the endlessly fluctuating chakra of the school. Sasuke didn't know how the students could stand it's constant and irregular changes. Every night he had been forced to meditate for hours before he could get to sleep. Usually he meditated in order to better sense peoples chakra but here he had to meditate to block it out! It was just one of many things that were completely backwards here.

He usually found it was a lot easier to sleep if he was exhausted from training but none of the Konoha ninja had trained properly since Naruto and Sasuke had drawn attention by coming back covered in wounds. Sasuke and Naruto had found themselves fending off questions about why they were fighting and Kakashi had warned them to be more careful in future.

Sasuke breathed slowly, blocking out the noise of his fellow Slytherin's and extending his senses past the walls of the dungeons. If he concentrated really carefully he could distinguish each students chakra aura. Except they didn't call it chakra, to them it was 'magic'. Sasuke could sense the students magic but because the castle itself seemed so saturated with magical energy it was impossible to tell who a person was by their magical aura. But when he concentrated like this, Sasuke found it was easy to tell chakra from magic. All the ninja had agreed not to tone down their chakra aura like they normally would so they could sense each other more easily.

"Wake up lazy! It's time for dinner."

Sasuke cracked an eye open to glare at the one who had interrupted his meditation.

"I wasn't asleep."

"Oh? Because it really looked like you were," said Malfoy smugly.

"Well I wasn't."

Sasuke stood with his usual grace and walked past Malfoy to go to dinner. Malfoy scowled at the Japanese boy's lack of respect. He was used to people knowing who he was and Sasuke obviously didn't. But it didn't matter because Malfoy was determined to make this person into as close a friend as a Malfoy ever had. Sasuke was obviously a strong person and Malfoy could respect strength.

After dinner Sasuke hurried away from the Slytherin table and sought out Naruto. He dragged his boyfriend into a deserted classroom. Naruto smiled pushing Sasuke back into the teachers desk. As they kissed Sasuke turned them around so Naruto could sit on the sturdy desk. Naruto's fingers found purchase in Sasuke's hair, tugging at short spiky strands. Sasuke moaned slightly as Naruto's talented fingers ran over a sensitive spot at the back of his neck.

Pulling away Naruto rested his forehead on Sasuke's. "_Let's spar._"

Sasuke gave him a cautious look, "_Kakashi said we shouldn't."_

_"No... Kakashi said we should be more careful."_

_"Which is the same thing."_

_"No it's not, 'being more careful' means we can go and spar in the forest in secret!"_

Sasuke looked at Naruto's excited expression and his blue eyes, which right at this moment danced with fire at the thought of the fight.

"_We'll need to be careful getting there, so as not to be seen."_

Naruto rolled his eyes, "_It's called stealth, ninja have it!_"

*

Standing on the eaves of the forbidden forest Naruto failed to hold back a shiver. The old trees loomed over them in an almost threatening manner and the strong wind that swept the grounds didn't venture into the still forest.

"_Spooky,ne?"_

_"Not scared are you?"_ taunted Sasuke.

_"You wish!"_

And with that he was off.

Sasuke gave one last glance in the direction of the castle before running after Naruto. The students would be fine; they had Kakashi and Sakura. Besides there hadn't been any sign of danger around Hogwarts so far so Sasuke supposed they could take a break.

With a burst of speed he caught up with Naruto. Throwing a kunai at an angle Sasuke managed to pin Naruto's outer robes to a tree. His boyfriend was forced to pause allowing Sasuke to reach him just as Naruto shrugged out of the garment in time to block a blow to the side of his head. Naruto aimed for Sasuke's stomach but his hand was caught. Sasuke allowed himself a small smirk as he forced his arm into the side of Naruto's neck, carrying out his blocked move and at the same time using his grip in Naruto's fist to knock him off balance. As he fell Sasuke allowed himself to be pulled down, one knee landing either side of Naruto's hips. They hit the earthy forest floor with a dull thump and Naruto glared up at his smirking boyfriend.

"_Not beaten so easily are we?_" taunted Sasuke pinning Naruto's hands above his head.

"_As if!_"

Naruto lurched upwards, quickly capturing Sasuke's lips in a kiss that he wasn't expecting. True, their fights often translated into make out sessions but never this early. Confident that he had caught his boyfriend off guard when he felt Sasuke lean closer and loosen his grip, Naruto flipped their positions. Sasuke glared at him and tried to move away but Naruto pushed himself down between Sasuke's legs. Sasuke's eyes immediately darkened and his lips parted in a soft pant. Naruto smirked to himself as he began to rock, pressing Sasuke into the ground and taking full advantage of Sasuke's weakness. The raven let out a badly stifled moan before Naruto's lips once again latched onto his.

Naruto could tell Sasuke was finding it hard to maintain his composure and he knew that he would soon lose his own. So, though it pained him, Naruto let go of one of Sasuke's wrists so that he could pin Sasuke's arm securely to the ground with a kunai through his robes. Sasuke noticed immediately and Naruto had to struggle to get another kunai through the boys other sleeve as Sasuke tried to throw him off.

"_You let your guard down, teme!_" gloated Naruto as he jumped off of his boyfriend.

Sasuke snarled and tugged at the kunai. They were firmly fixed so instead he pulled his arms out of the sleeves. But by the time Sasuke was free again Naruto was streaking away through the trees. Sending chakra to his feet Sasuke leapt up into the branches. He could clearly make out Naruto's form through sharingan eyes. Naruto had told him he didn't need to play fair and Sasuke had some revenge to enact.

As soon as Naruto glanced back to check Sasuke's position, Sasuke cast his genjutsu. Naruto stuck his tongue out, unaware of the trick he'd already fallen for. Unknown to Naruto, Sasuke had just dropped to the forest floor. Using his superior speed to it's fullest, Sasuke raced ahead of his victim before jumping into the trees to Naruto's left. From his fingers flew six shuriken and between them glinted barely visible wires.

Naruto spotted the shuriken just in time. He deflected several and dodged the rest but one of the wires caught his ankle. He had seen Sasuke's moves enough times to know how he should react and twisted his leg away from the wire before it could tighten properly. He landed less gracefully than he would have liked on a branch just in time to see the kunai lodged in the tree. As the exploding tag attached to it crackled, Naruto threw himself as far away from the tree as he could. The blast was weak enough not to kill him, which Naruto took as a sign that Sasuke wasn't very angry with him, but it was still strong enough to throw him through the air at high speed. Naruto managed to land on his back to avoid eating dirt and skidded several long feet before a heavy weight on his chest halted his momentum.

The cold bite of a kunai at his throat alerted him to his defeat.

"_That was low, dobe._"

Naruto grinned up at his boyfriend. "'_A shinobi uses whatever tools or skills are available to him,' isn't that right Sasuke?_"

Sasuke frowned, it was one of the teachings he himself had used against Naruto in their early years.

"_Since when do you listen to me?_" he asked scathingly.

"_I always listen,_" said Naruto innocently. Sasuke gave him a sceptical look waiting for the rest. Sure enough, "_I just choose to ignore it._"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pressed the blade closer. "_Give?_"

Naruto scowled, he hated losing but he was beaten. If this was a real battle any counter move on his part would result in a slit throat. "_Hai hai,_" he muttered grudgingly.

Sasuke put the kunai away and moved off of Naruto's chest to allow him easier breathing. But before he could stand up fully firm hands gripped his hips, pulling him down into Naruto's lap. He groaned softly when Naruto bucked his hips, making his obvious erection known.

Leaning down Sasuke held eye contact with the other, his face close to Naruto's, their lips almost touching. There was a challenge sparking in Sasuke's dark eyes. Naruto's heartbeat thudded in his ears and he restrained his natural urge to close the distance, turning it into a matter of endurance. They lay still for the longest time with leaves of the forest canopy rustling high above them. Sasuke straddling Naruto and their bodies tense in torturous anticipation. Sasuke purposefully allowed a small shiver to slip down his spine, something that didn't go unnoticed by Naruto, in fact it carried right from Sasuke's body into his own. Naruto kept the distance until he absolutely couldn't bear it, Sasuke would always win if it was a matter of patience. It was how they worked; Sasuke would let Naruto know when he wanted it, Naruto always wanted it and if, by some strange happening, Naruto _didn't_ want it, Sasuke would _make_ him want it. It was just the way they worked.

So when Naruto gave in to their battle of endurance Sasuke gladly complied, opening his mouth to the others familiar tongue. That was Naruto; familiar but never predictable. Sasuke skin tingled as Naruto's hand found it's way under his shirt, those callused fingers ran over his abdomen which quivered in anticipation. Every time they were together like this Sasuke found his control slipping. He couldn't help it, Naruto got under his skin.

It had been the same when they were younger and it had driven him mad. And when Naruto had found him after all those years as a missing nin... Sasuke had expected the fight but the ending had taken him by surprise. That kiss hadn't been their first but it had changed everything.

Sasuke's cheeks were flushed, he knew. His heart was pounding in his ears... or was it?

Naruto looked questioningly up at the Uchiha who was poised above him... listening. He strained his own ears and soon realised what had interrupted them. The pounding of what sounded like many hooves reached his ears and they seemed to be drawing closer. Sasuke rolled off of him towards a nearby bush and Naruto followed, hiding beneath the undergrowth.

The rumbling drew ever closer and Naruto nervously looked for an escape route in case they came in danger of getting trampled. But the hooves slowed as they passed and Sasuke guessed they had stopped near the site of his and Naruto's confrontation. He signalled to Naruto that they'd be better off in the trees, if they tried to creep closer on the ground it would be near impossible to do so stealthily.

So they climbed the trees and moved towards the clearing that had been created by Sasuke's explosion. They exercised all of the ninja stealth that ANBU were renowned for as they crept upon the new arrivals. Naruto was only stopped from crying out in surprise by Sasuke's hand over his mouth. He nodded once he had gotten over the shock and Sasuke removed his hand.

Below them, on the charred ground stood four of the strangest creatures the ninja had ever seen. Torso's of well sculpted men blended perfectly into the bodies of horses. These beings had an aura that could only be described as majestic.

"An explosion," said one, his voice deep and rumbling.

"No doubt," murmured another.

One of the creatures stamped his front hooves tossing his long black hair. "Who would do this?!"

"I think a better question, Bane, would be 'why?' And to what end?" said a chestnut bodied creature.

"'Why' does not matter! They have no business in our forest!" protested Bane.

"So hot-tempered..." sighed the chestnut creature.

"You would allow anyone to come and go through this forest without a second thought, Ronan. That sort of thinking will not protect our lands from the coming storm."

"I highly doubt this has anything to do with the foreseen troubles," replied Ronan in his melancholy tone. "Most likely they are pranksters from up at the school."

"There are tracks," said the first creature. "One set, human... but they lead towards this site."

"Follow them," ordered Bane and the younger creature set off the way Sasuke had come. "They came from the direction of the school. That they were students should not stop us from giving them a fitting punishment."

"They are not centaurs, and it is not our place to punish humans," Ronan reminded him.

"It is our place to protect our lands, Ronan, you know this. We cannot allow weakness in these troubled times. War is coming and we must remain strong."

"We do not trouble ourselves with the battles of men."

"That may be but we must still be strong to remain out of their affairs. Their Dark Lord will enslave all he can and you know the one he seeks dwells nearby. We must make it clear that we are nothing to do with that damned school. Allowing them to run rampant through out forest is one step from being a traitor like Firenze!"

Sasuke gave Naruto a significant look, it was clear who Bane was talking about. These 'centaurs' knew something of Voldemort and from the way they spoke it was almost as if they knew the future. Naruto would have been keen to ask them if they hadn't been so hostile. A second later the youngest centaur returned carrying the outer garments of their robes.

"This is most odd," he said, placing the clothes on the ground between them. "The tracks I found start a little way from these, they begin as though someone landed yet I cannot see were they sprung from nor can I find another set of tracks to match this other uniform. Their crests are that of Slytherin and Gryffindor so I imagine they were fighting but look at these." He threw several shuriken and kunai onto the pile of robes. "I have never heard of any wizard who fought with such primitive weapons when magic is at their disposal."

"Most odd," echoed Ronan. "But it does prove that they came from the school, I wonder where they are now..."

"We should split up and hunt them down."

"Yes... but do not harm them, we will learn their business first."

Bane snorted in disgust and galloped away through the trees. When the other centaurs had left the two ninja breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a close call and Naruto was glad they had been thrown away from the scene by the force of the explosion.

"_We better leave before you upset anymore strange creatures,_" said Naruto with a hint of smugness in his voice now that Sasuke had been the cause of the trouble for once.

Sasuke gave a huff and jumped lightly from his branch. Naruto peered through the trees nervously as Sasuke collected their belongings and leapt back up into the branches. They made a speedy exit from the Forbidden Forest without touching the ground until the trees had thinned and the red light of a bloody sunset streamed through the branches. Once they were safe they tidied themselves up a bit. Sasuke redid Naruto's tie for him and when the knot was tied he used it to pull Naruto close to him. Sasuke placed a kiss on Naruto's forehead reminding him that he was still shorter than Sasuke. Naruto nuzzled his face into Sasuke's neck as his boyfriend purred appreciatively. The sun had set by the time they parted and Sasuke decided to remain behind for now to avoid suspicion.

But as he watched his boyfriend sprint off across the sloping lawn Sasuke's mind returned to the aura of the castle. He closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated. He felt the magical aura a split second before a smooth voice spoke.

"Just friends, huh?"

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**A/N:** Again, I will try to keep updating but I'm sorry if it takes a while.

-Yasu


	6. Understanding Differences

**A/N:** I feel I must apoligise for how long this one usually takes to update, though with the amount of work I get it's very difficult to improve on that. I don't know when the last chapter was out, someone told me it was over a year but I'm not sure that was correct. This chapter is a little shorter than my usual and I'll try and make up for that next time. It's also centres largely on Slytherin's but that couldn't really be helped. So sorry but I hope you enjoy anyway.

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"Just friends, huh?"

Sasuke inwardly cursed his carelessness but not a word passed his lips as he opened his eyes again to look up at the castle. The setting sun painted the castle red and gold and glinted off the hundreds of window panes. He took a steadily measured breath of clean night air.

"The best of friends," he replied eventually, tearing his eyes from the beautiful sight.

Draco Malfoy was sat on the low branch of a tree on the forest's edge. Sasuke noticed he was positioned to watch the forest rather than the grounds. So, he had waited for them yet he had not ventured far into the dark trees. He dropped from his perch and straightened his robes with an air of superiority. Sasuke couldn't help noticing that the dismount could have been done much more smoothly with the assistance of chakra. Malfoy leant casually against the tree trunk to give him a calculating glare.

"I don't know how things work in your country, but here, relations with Gryffindor _filth_-"

As Malfoy spat the last word he was cut off by Sasuke's arm holding him firmly against the tree. Sasuke glared hard at him almost immediatly regreting his own rash action. Perhaps Naruto had rubbed off on him a little, in the past it would surely have taken more than a petty insult to gain a rise from him.

"I won't have you insulting my friend," he warned in a deadly tone, his cool facade making up for his moment of anger. Now he'd begun he refused to back down.

"I'll insult any goody goody Gryffindor I please!" declared Malfoy and Sasuke felt the cold point of a wooden wand press into the underside of his own jaw.

He stilled instinctively. Sasuke knew very little of the power that these magic conductors held but he had witnessed the students turn rabbits into slippers and cause indoor thunder storms in the classes he had observed. So he was cautious; Sasuke didn't know exactly how useful the wands were in combat but he didn't fancy becoming another pair of fluffy slippers.

"Release me!" demanded Malfoy, twisting the wand uncomfortably.

Sasuke hesitated, facing an unknown weapon was unwise but on the other hand he very much doubted this boy was allowed to kill him on school grounds. Sasuke faced death in the course of every one of his ANBU missions and had faced much worse in the company of Orochimaru. He looked directly at Draco gauging his reaction to the situation. Anger and indignation shone clearly in his eyes but Sasuke had been in the presence of murderers more times than he could count.

"You don't have the guts to kill me," he said calmly.

Malfoy's jaw dropped a little in surprise which Sasuke paid close attention to. Why was he surprised?

"K-kill you?" Malfoy asked with a shaky little chuckle. "Merlin's beard, when did I ever express a wish to kill you?"

Sasuke frowned, suddenly realising he had mistaken the situation. Maybe he was becoming paranoid after dealing with slippery bastards like Orochimaru for so long. Things worked differently in this world after all. Either Draco really did have no intention of killing him or he was biding his time. In the ninja world there were only two types of fights: a fight to the death or a sparring match.

Apparently Malfoy had registered Sasuke's moment of distraction for the next second he felt a tugging on his left ankle as he was hoisted high into the air. Malfoy gave a bark of laughter as he stepped away from the tree and straightened his robes. Whilst Malfoy saw to his appearance Sasuke managed to untangle his robes from around his head and trap them between his ankles to hide his weapons holsters which had, for the briefest of moments, been on full display.

"How do you like that one, Uchiha? Useful little spell, courtesy of my Godfather," said Malfoy smirking up at him.

Being careful not to dislodge his robes Sasuke swung himself towards the nearest tree sending chakra to his hands so that he could grip the branch tightly. He tried to tug his ankle free but he couldn't see whatever had hold of him. As he had got into the habit of doing, whenever someone grabbed hold of him, he sent Chidori Current through his legs and sure enough the spell was broken.

But before he could hoist himself up into the tree he heard Malfoy cry, "Petrificus Totalus!" and Sasuke limbs snapped to his sides as he fell to the ground with a heavy thump. Being unable to land gracefully as he was used to, Sasuke was temporarily stunned.

A sharp laugh sounded from somewhere just outside his field of vision. "You sure are a slippery one but now you're caught... you're at my mercy." Sasuke felt footsteps on the cold grass as Malfoy walked around him, surveying his prey. He tried Chidori Current again but this time the invisible bonds were absolute. "Was that lightening, Uchiha? My, my what strange magic you pos-" but once again Malfoy was cut off as he made the critical mistake of looking into Sasuke's eyes.

**-0-**

Draco looked around in horror; something was terribly wrong. He stood on the eaves of the Forbidden Forest, alone now in a landscape reminiscent of a photo negative except that the sky was painted a disturbing blood red.

"We are in my world now, Malfoy, and you are at my mercy."

Sasuke was right behind him, Draco could sense his presence yet he couldn't turn to look at him. His own body was no longer his own, he couldn't control it, he couldn't control anything. Draco briefly wondered what obscure branch of magic this was but knew somehow that he wouldn't be getting answers any time soon.

"Why did you follow us tonight?" Sasuke's deep voice echoed across the discoloured grounds, possessing everything.

"I do as I please!" shouted Draco, glad he still had control of his own voice though it shook slightly.

"Clearly," drawled Sasuke as Draco's body finally turned towards him.

Suddenly Draco wished he was still facing the castle as the ancient trees stretched their limbs out towards him, reaching for him and binding him. The castle was a comforting image of home in comparision with the forest that had disturbed him since his first venture into it's depths during his first year at Hogwarts. Sasuke stepped forward out of the darkness appearing in the same backwards colours of the landscape except for his eyes which glowed with the exact vivid hue as the swirling sky. Draco saw that he wasn't wearing the Hogwarts robes anymore instead he was dressed in a strange robe like outfit with a sword at his hip.

"Like I said: we're in my world now," repeated Sasuke, gesturing loosely at his own clothes then at Draco and the surrounding trees.

Draco instinctively followed Sasuke's movements with his eyes and realised that he was wearing similar clothes, though he noted he had been spared the sword. Glancing over his shoulder he found that the castle had disappeared and that the woods they stood in didn't even resemble the Forbidden forest any more.

"How are you doing this?"

"You haven't yet answered my question, and don't make me resort to more... painful methods," he said savouring the words as though he would like nothing more than to torture it out of Draco. "Now, why were you sneaking around the forest when you clearly don't enjoy being near it."

Draco didn't ask how Sasuke knew he was uncomfortable near the forest, that would confirm it in his opponents eyes; at the moment, Draco decided, Sasuke was probably just guessing.

"I was coming back to the common room and when I reached the marble staircase I saw your 'friend' sneaking out of the castle, naturally I saw an opportunity for blackmail should he be doing anything... forbidden."

"What did Naruto do to make you want to blackmail him?"

Draco sighed, shifting uncomfortably against the vines and branches which still snaked around his limbs, flexing and reminding him of his position. "He's a Gryffindor, isn't that enough?"

"No."

Draco snorted softly, "Come on Uchiha, you're a clever guy, otherwise you wouldn't be in Slytherin, surely you must have noticed the position of our house. The other three unite against us at every opportunity! We do what we must to survive and we do it well! 'Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends' that's us, through and through."

Sasuke frowned, "What is _your_ goal?"

"Sometimes you don't know until the end is near," said Draco with a shrug. "Following him could have led nowhere but on the other hand the information could have been useful, besides I was curious. You seem to think he's something pretty special, yet from what I've seen Gryffindors are rarely anything special, they're foolish, annoying and hard-headed people masquerading as brave paragons of good! They think they're always right and can get away with anything, they usually do as well especially when they're one of the headmaster's favourites. They've never had to learn what it's like to be us, to have your path laid out, to be expected to live up to the most heinous of expectations! And your little boyfriend wheedled his way right in there with the most sickening of all of them; the Golden Boy and his band of mudbloods and blood traitors!" Draco's voice had risen until he was almost shouting at the Uchiha who gave him another of those curious looks, and raised a single eyebrow at him.

Next second Draco knelt panting on the mercifully green grass. Every fibre of his body ached but he was in control again. He had never felt so completely exhausted in his entire life as he dragged his gaze up to the person in front of him. Sasuke rubbed his fingers over his eyes before looking down at him with those normal dark eyes just as Draco felt the last of his energy drain away.

He awoke several hours later tucked tightly beneath the crisp white sheets of a bed in the hospital wing. Draco frowned at the ceiling for a minute before dragging his uncooperative limbs into a sitting position. He still felt lethargic but at least he was conscious.

"Sleep well?" asked a falsely sweet voice from his bedside.

"So kind of you to worry for my health but you didn't need to sit with me all night," replied Draco.

"I thought you might like to talk," said Sasuke, still not tearing his eyes from the scroll spread out over his lap.

"You need not worry about me spreading your secret," sighed Draco, leaning back against his pillows and starring out of the tall windows at the dark sky.

"I know; I can do much worse than make trees tie you up."

"Oh I'm not scared of... whatever the hell that was, just curious and perhaps more cautious now I have experienced it firsthand, but not scared." Draco knew he must be careful in dealing with this one, he needed to appear smooth and unruffled after his earlier defeat. Sasuke clearly believed he was the superior one, and Draco would allow that for now.

"That's... unwise," said Sasuke softly.

"Maybe, but I see no real reason for you to hurt me. I have consented to leave your boyfriend alone, I'll even stay away from that girl with the obnoxiously loud hair," he said with carefully measured kindness.

"How generous of you. But why I wonder?"

"I have plenty of enemies without making them within my own house. I like to be able to sleep in confidence at night and be in the company of friends," this last statement was not entirely true; very few Slytherins regarded their classmates as their 'friends', in the end they were all just stepping stones on a journey to something bigger and better; they were used and then discarded, never trusted.

Sasuke nodded slowly, "I see," Draco could tell Sasuke didn't trust him but he expected it from a fellow Slytherin. "So... what exactly do you have against Gryffindors?"

Draco sighed fully aware of how much he had given away with his little outburst in that strange universe. "I'll tell you if you tell me what you did to me. It can't have been any hallucinogenic potion because you fed me nothing, I doubt old Dumbledore would allow you some dark magical object and I don't think it was a spell, I mean you don't even have a wand!"

"So you can't cast spells without a wand?"

Draco faltered for a second, "Well some really powerful wizards can, like the Dark Lord," he thought he saw Sasuke's gaze brighten slightly at the mention of the Dark Lord but he couldn't be certain. "So how did you do it?"

Sasuke took a long moment to look at him, he seemed to be weighing his options. Again Draco was impressed; it was a typically Slytherin thing to do before deciding on an option that would benefit him. Draco kept his gaze steady and determined, trying to appear friendly; he needed to gain at least a little of Sasuke's trust. Eventually the black haired boy nodded and Draco recoiled as Sasuke's eyes bled a brilliant blood red, just as they had in that strange vision. They reminded him forcibly of the eyes of his master, except the pupils were not slitted they were normal enough but Sasuke's iris's were patterned with three spinning coma's that suddenly stopped.

"These eyes are what held you under my control. I can't share my secrets with you, Draco. All I can tell you is that I come from a very different world. I suppose magic is the same at it roots, but we harness it differently."

The use of his first name surprised Draco, but it was an obvious offering of a truce. He also sensed that Sasuke was telling the truth, he really wasn't allowed to share the secrets of his strange wandless magic whether he wanted to or not. Regardless of what people seemed to think Draco had matured in recent years, he had learnt subtlety and knew what it was like to keep secrets.

"I hope to find out some day. To answer your question, Slytherins and Gryffindors have been enemies ever since Godric Gryffindor and the great Salazar Slytherin, co-founders of Hogwarts fell out and for the same reasons. We have very different ideas of what makes a great wizard, different personalities, different ideals, different goals. I recommend you ask your boyfriend what his new friends say about us, it will likely be... enlightening. But bear in mind Sasuke, very little of it is true; they cannot grasp the true spirit of Slytherin and that's their loss."

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**A/N:** As always reviews are very much apprieciated and I encourage your storyline suggestions they are always brilliant!

-Yasu


	7. Specialis Revelio

**A/N:** This chapter is dedicated to Cello-chan because her reviews made me laugh and kicked my arse into finishing this chapter. Enjoy!

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Since that day in the hospital wing Sasuke had thought a great deal about what Draco had said. He had decided against relaying the encounter to Naruto whom he suspected would not understand. He had also found himself spending increasing amounts of time in the company of his fellow Slytherin. They were equals of sorts, not equals as he and Naruto were on physical ability and commitment but equals of intelligence. Draco knew how it felt to have a prestiged family reputation to uphold. He was clearly clever; his marks, particularly in potions, were top of the class, though Sasuke suspected if it were not for the fact that the potions master was Draco's godfather he may have been outshone by Granger.

Hermione Granger was one of Harry Potter's best friends and was always seen with him, Ron Weasley and now Naruto who had attached himself firmly to them. Draco had, more than once, expressed his distaste for the trio and Sasuke had soon realised that they were who Draco had spoken of in his Mangekyo Sharingan illusion. As a 'close friend' of Naruto's, Sasuke had spent some time in their company and found Harry to be decent enough and Hermione sensible even if her attitude bore similarities to Sakura's bossy manner. Ron however was a different story; he was openly hostile and obnoxious, seeking to make Sasuke as uncomfortable as possible. Sasuke, of course, had refused to be perturbed by the immature remarks and sideways jabs, something that he was glad to see annoyed Ron even more than his mere presence.

Nearly two months had passed since the truce between Slytherin wizard and Slytherin ninja and Sasuke found himself walking along dark corridors alone. Outside a storm raged against the unmoving castle walls making the evening prematurely dark and the wall brackets inside provided little light. Lightening flashed for a moment illuminating the lonely corridor and a sudden barrage of wind threw a nearby window open. The cold gale rushed in blowing out the meagre flames. The corridor was plunged into darkness as thunder rolled across the grounds. Sasuke shivered, he still couldn't get used to how cold Scotland was compared to home. He couldn't see a thing, there wasn't even any sign of a moon tonight. Sasuke felt his way along the wall to the nearest bracket and gathered chakra in his stomach. Making the signs for a basic fire jutsu he relit the torch, careful to keep the flame small; he didn't want to scorch any of the old tapestries that lined the walls here. With light restored he closed the window and paused for a moment, looking out across the dark and windswept scene.

It was then, as another flash of lightening rent the sky and captured the grounds in a black and white snapshot, that he saw something that couldn't be there. A lone figure standing in the long swaying grass on the banks of the Black Lake. He stood tall and calm, appearing unmoved by the gale that buffeted him. For a split second it was as though they were looking right at him and Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat. It couldn't be! He was seeing things, the Mangekyo Sharingan was messing with his eyesight. That had to be it because as a second flash lit up the grounds they were revealed to be completely empty. Not even the half-giant Hagrid was out in this weather.

Sasuke sighed and continued his journey to the library. At Kakashi's request Dumbledore had granted the ninja complete access to the expansive library at Hogwarts including the restricted section. So Sasuke had been making the most of the privilege, reading up on the wizard's equivilant to forbidden jutsu and Lord Voldemort's rise to power. He returned _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ to it's shelf; it had been an informative recommendation of Granger's but it was only an overview. He needed to be able to recognise some of the spells they might need to face. Hopefully with what he had learned these last months he would now understand the books in the restricted section. He ignored Madam Pince's disdainful sniff as he browsed the dusty volumes. Finally selecting one that looked promising, Sasuke made his way to an empty table.

He flipped _Magick Moste Evile_ open and began reading the introduction. It took him a while and some of the longer words were lost on him but Sasuke thought all this reading was probably doing wonders for his English.

"Sasuke!" his head snapped up to see Naruto hurrying towards him with Gryffindor friends in tow.

"Shh _dobe, _this is a library," Sasuke scolded as Madam Pince glared at his boyfriend from behind a stack of books.

"Hello Sasuke," said Hermione as she sat beside him. Ron sat opposite so that he could glare most effectively. "What are you reading?" she asked as she lifted his book from him to see the cover. Hermione's eyes widened and she pushed it back in front of him with a distasteful air.

"Something wrong?" asked Sasuke, though he anticipated the answer.

"Well it's not exactly light reading..."

"Yeah, what do you want with a book like this, hm?!" asked Ron immediately jumping on the incriminating evidence.

"Research," Sasuke said tightly.

"You know for a Slytherin you're not too bright. Anyone with half a brain knows you're up to something if you call this research! It's suspicious! You're suspicious! I'm a prefect you know and if you're doing anything... evil, I'll catch you!"

"It's just research Ron," said Harry quietly.

Sasuke looked up, surprised to hear Harry of all people defending research into the dark arts.

"What? Mate, he's a Slytherin and he's reading _evil_ books! I told you he was no good, what more evidence do you need?"

Harry sighed as Hermione calmed Ron down to prevent him getting all of them thrown from the library. He edged over to the ninja. "Can I have a word with you two?" They nodded and the three of them slipped away from Ron and Hermione who were arguing in hushed tones. "They're like this every time you two aren't around. I need to tell them," he spoke mainly to Sasuke as he had more authority when it came to mission decisions.

Naruto looked at his boyfriend who was clearly weighing the dangers of telling Ron and Hermione. "_I don't think they'd tell anyone, Sasuke. And Ron would stop hating your fine ass,_" he added with a foxy grin.

Sasuke looked at him for a moment. "_Somehow I think he'd still hate me,_" he said softly. Then he looked back at Harry. "Do you trust them?"

"With my life."

"Does Dumbledore trust them?"

"Yes, he's let me tell them confidential stuff before."

"Okay, but make sure they know we can't be discovered. If it gets out the other side will have the opportunity to gather people with similar skills to combat ours."

"Ninja would help them?"

"Of course, there are plenty of S class criminals who would take on an international mission."

"_Especially if they knew you were here,_" added Naruto, his tone sad.

"_Same goes for you,_" replied Sasuke.

Harry shrugged, dismissing their secret conversations. Leading the way back to his best friends he glanced around the bookshelves they passed to make sure they were alone in this part of the library whilst Sasuke and Naruto did the same with their senses. Or at least Sasuke did, in truth Naruto still couldn't distinguish between separate magical auras without staying still and concentrating for a while first.

Harry cleared his throat. "There's something you guys don't know about these two and the pink-haired one-"

"And Kakashi-sensei," added Naruto.

"And Professor Hatake," agreed Harry. "They're not potential students scouting out Hogwarts... they're ninja." Harry might have laughed at the shocked expressions on his friend's faces if Ron hadn't looked about to explode into one of his 'What the hell?!' rants. "Professor Dumbledore employed them to protect me. A sort of secret weapon that the other side doesn't have. So you see Sasuke's only in Slytherin 'cause he's been placed there for information gathering. He's keeping an eye on Malfoy, not plotting with him," he said all this very quickly before Ron could recover his ability to speak.

Understanding was dawning on Hermione's face as Ron burst, "What the FUCK?!" he shouted into the silence of the library.

There was a squeak of heals before Madam Pince reached them. "OUT!" she screeched, pointing a bony finger at them.

They all ran for the exit with the enraged librarian shuffling after them. Sasuke was clutching his heavy book so at least he had some reading material to finish before he had to face a hostile Madam Pince again.

"If she doesn't let me back in I'm blaming you," he muttered to Ron.

Ron scowled. "Let's go somewhere private," he said looking to Hermione to provide a place.

She nodded and led them into an empty classroom, placing spells on the door so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"So you're ninja?" Ron asked in a tone of forced calm. When they nodded he crossed his arms defiantly. "I'm not sure I believe you. In fact I think you've confunded Harry to make him accept your lies."

"Ron, you're being ridiculous. You've seen Confundus Charms and you know Harry isn't confunded," said Hermione immediately.

"Imperioused then!" shouted Ron, determined to prove that he was right.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Of course I'm not. Look, I didn't believe it at first but I went and checked with Dumbledore and he confirmed everything."

Ron gaped for a moment. "I always said he was batty," Ron declared before turning on Naruto and Sasuke again. "You don't look much like ninja."

It was Sasuke's turn to roll his eyes. "It's an _undercover_ mission therefore we wear _disguises_," he said slowly, as if explaining it to a child.

Ron huffed but seemed to have run out of objections.

"Do you have weapons then?" asked Hermione before Ron could continue his interrogation.

"Of course!" exclaimed Naruto, immediately filling his hands with kunai and shuriken.

"But they're muggle weapons!" said Ron in dismay. "Don't you guys know any magic? Those would be useless against a sheild charm!"

"We have our own brand of magic which is what makes us useful against enemy wizards. They won't be expecting our jutsu and they won't know how to combat it," said Sasuke.

"Your what?"

"Jutsu; like spells but without wands," explained Sasuke.

"Wandless magic?"

"Sort of."

Ron frowned at them. "I don't like it," he declared at last.

"What you like doesn't matter. We're here to protect Harry and I do not intend to see this mission fail."

**-0-**

Over the next week Ron persisted in demanding they show him how powerful their jutsu were in comparison to wizards magic. He had repeatedly tried to ambush Naruto and challenged Sasuke to a wizards duel nearly every time he saw him. Hermione had told him to knock it off but admitted she would like to see the ninja's power. Sakura sought her out the at the end of the week.

"So I hear you know about us now?" she had said quietly as they left the Arithmacy classroom.

"Yeah, Harry thought it best if we were in on it. Since we'll all be spending time together."

"Fair enough."

True to Naruto's word Hermione did indeed find Sakura very easy to get along with. The pink-haired girl was friendly and kind yet she had a temper that reminded her of Molly Weasley. Sakura's habit of putting her teammates in their places was also reminiscent of the way Molly managed her family.

"You know Ron is really curious about what kind of magic you can do..." Hermione said tentatively.

"You as well?" said Sakura with a smile.

"Well... yes. It does seem a little unfair that you've been learning all about our ways for months and we still don't know anything about you."

"When you put it like that, it does seem unfair," said Sakura, but she made no mention of changing the situation.

Inwardly though Sakura thought it couldn't hurt to satisfy their curiosity, at the least they should know what to expect should a fight break out. So since it was the end of lessons for the day she decided to seek out her team mates. Sakura flared her chakra slightly and three chakra signals flared back; it was a basic signal system they had devised for locating each other (a stronger flare would signal danger).

"I'm going to go down to dinner now, Hermione. I'll see you later," said Sakura, already walking away.

Hermione nodded that she had heard and took the quickest route to Gryffindor Tower to deposit her books as Sakura disappeared down a side passage. Arriving in the Great Hall Sakura hurried over to where Naruto sat watching Ron and Harry playing 'wizards chess'. He looked disappointed when she called him away from the game where human-looking pieces smashed each other to bits.

"_Where are we going Sakura-chan?_" asked Naruto as he was led across the entrance hall.

"_Team meeting. Sasuke's chakra signal came from the dungeons._"

"_He's probably in his common room, he said it was down there._"

"_How horrible!_" said Sakura with a shudder. "_I don't know how we'll get him out of there, I can't imagine we'll find a helpful Slytherin to fetch him._"

But they needn't have worried, Sasuke was leaning against a cold stone wall in the dark corridor at the bottom of the stairs waiting for them. He raised an eyebrow and turned into a nearby classroom, it was pitch dark so Sasuke used one of his fire jutsu to light a torch while Sakura wedged the door shut to prevent interruptions. Naruto lifted a few candles into the new flame and set them on a desk.

"_Any particular reason for this meeting?_" asked Sasuke, settling himself on the desk beside Naruto.

"_Yes. I know Ron has been bothering both of you to show him your powers and I think we should._"

Sasuke gave her a scathing look. "_Why should we?_"

"_We might get caught, Sakura-chan..._" said Naruto dubiously. Sakura mentally cursed; she had been hoping for Naruto's support in this.

"_You're one to talk, Naruto. And we won't get caught if we're careful; we'll ask them where the safest place would be since they know this castle well. And I think, that if a fight should take place it would be beneficial for them to know what to expect from us,_" said Sakura playing on Sasuke's practical nature.

Sure enough, he looked more convinced as soon as she brought battle plans into the argument. "_I don't like it but it might be a good idea. We will need to be very careful that no one sees us though,_" said Sasuke cautiously; some of their moves were rather conspicuous.

Naruto nodded happily, he definitely wanted to show Ron that he wasn't useless. "_The Christmas holidays are soon, if we wait until then most of the students will have gone home._"

"_Good thinking._"

"_Not just pretty face, eh?_" Naruto grinned cheekily as he wrapped an arm around Sasuke's waist and nuzzled against his shoulder.

"_Not even that,_" replied Sasuke immediately, though he didn't push Naruto away.

"_Oh yeah, I forgot, _you're_ the 'pretty' one. I'm just 'cute'._"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto's hand wandered towards his arse. Sakura gave an awkward cough and excused herself. It had taken her a long time to get over Sasuke, though Sai had been a great help. Sometimes she still found it difficult to see them so close. Sasuke watched her leave the room before leaning back into Naruto's chest. He breathed a heavy sigh and Naruto snaked his arms tightly around his boyfriend. Silence reigned in the dark underground classroom. The meagre light made the place seem even more lonely and Sasuke squeezed Naruto's hand slightly in an involuntary twitch.

"_I miss Konoha,_" admitted Naruto softly, picking up on the gesture. "_This is one hell of an adventure but I think I'll be glad when we can go home. I wonder how Iruka's doing..."_

_"Probably missing you."_

_"Probably missing Kakashi."_

_"Probably worrying himself silly about both of you."_

Naruto chuckled and Sasuke felt the vibrations through his back. He was infinitely glad Naruto was here with him, especially now; the dungeons at Hogwarts were horribly reminiscent of Orochimaru's hideouts. He turned into Naruto's embrace and closed his eyes, not wanting to see the darkness that surrounded them. Sasuke felt Naruto stiffen for a second in surprise but soon those strong arms held him even tighter offering warmth in the cold dungeon and comfort in a foreign country.

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**A/N: **Reviews make an authors world go around and I know you lot are good at them! :]

-Yasu


	8. Our Way

**A/N:** Ahh I wonder if there will ever be a chapter when I don't have to apoligise for its lateness. I never intended to update with any regularity for this story but I feel I've taken that to the extreme. Still here it is, enjoy.

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Christmas Eve dawned bright and cold as high up in Gryffindor Tower Naruto rolled over curling into a ball and tucking his frozen feet back under the covers. He fumbled blindly around his bed frowning when he realized he was alone. Naruto groaned and rubbed his eyes before twitching the heavy crimson hangings of his four-poster open to let the morning in. The first thing he saw after his eyes had adjusted was the bastard that was supposed to be in his bed, sitting in the windowsill.

"_Aren't you cold?_"

Sasuke shrugged, still staring out of the window into the empty grounds.

"_It's warm in here,_" Naruto coxed gently. "_You needn't worry, my clone is still down in the dungeons._"

To his surprise Sasuke wandered back to bed without protest. Suddenly Naruto's plans to jump him and have his way seemed a little insensitive. Something was bothering Sasuke. Naruto trusted his boyfriend's instincts implicitly and if something was on his mind it was usually significant. Sasuke lay his head on the feather pillows and Naruto reached over him to pull the curtains shut. Here they could talk in private. Naruto had asked Harry to put silencing charms on the hangings so that he 'wouldn't disturb anyone when he was sharpening his knives'. That and it meant they only had to cast henge on a clone and Sasuke could stay the night. At least he could in the holidays when their only roommates were Harry and Ron, Naruto didn't think Sasuke would risk it once the rest of the school returned.

"_What is it?_" he asked softly.

As expected Sasuke took his time answering so Naruto happily enjoyed the smell of his boyfriends hair as he nuzzled the back of Sasuke's neck, lavishing attention on him. Eventually Naruto heard an intake of breath that indicated he was ready to talk.

"_I saw him again last night._"

"_Oooh,_" breathed Naruto.

Sasuke had told him about this the other day. He hadn't had a choice really. Sasuke had frozen when the figure had appeared in the grounds again and Naruto had bugged him about what it was until he finally relented. Sasuke hadn't actually said it but Naruto knew who he thought he was seeing. Sasuke had described the figure: tall, black hair tied back, red eyes... Even an ANBU uniform, it was Itachi as he had been on the night of the massacre. But it wasn't possible. Sasuke had killed Itachi, Naruto had seen the man's body...

_-Flashback-_

Naruto knelt by Sasuke's side clutching his hand tight as the thundercloud sky drenched them. He watched Sakura anxiously as she passed her glowing hands over Sasuke's broken body taking extra time over his closed and bloody eyes. The damage was extensive but he had faith in her.

Sure enough after endless painful minutes the green glow diminished and she sat back on her heals. "That's all I can do for him, it's up to him to wake up now. I'll need to look at his eyes later... there's something strange about them." Behind them the sounds of battle filtered up from the valley. Sakura cast a nervous glance at Sasuke. "I need to check whether anyone else is injured," she said almost apologetically. "Will you be okay to watch over him? You know he might be disagreeable when he wakes up..."

"Hai, I'll be fine. Go, Sakura."

Naruto sat in silence when she had gone, listening to the team they had put together battle the strange man they had met along the way. He clutched Sasuke's hand tighter, if he or his cactus-comrade made it up here he would fight them to his last breath. He wouldn't let them take Sasuke, not when he finally had him after all these years.

He sat, fidgeting with the urge to just grab Sasuke's unconscious body and make a break for it. But he knew that wouldn't work. They were positioned on top of the pile of rubble that had once been the Uchiha hideout. On one side his team fought the enemy and on the other the black flames of amaterasu were quickly consuming more forest. They were stranded until the enemy were defeated.

When Sasuke woke up Sakura's words were proved true. The first thing he did was strike out at Naruto who was still holding his hand. Naruto only just managed to block with his other arm.

"Teme, it's just me," said Naruto, holding tight to Sasuke's wrist as the rogue nin tried to dig his fingernails into the flesh of Naruto's other hand.

"I know that baka!" snarled Sasuke, trying to twist into a position from which he could kick the Konoha ninja.

Naruto growled as Sasuke managed to get a knee in his side and promptly tried to pin the Uchiha down. However Sasuke had already managed to loose himself and was rolling away. He attempted to jump neatly to his feet as he would normally do but doubled over in pain.

"You're the idiot if you can't see that you're in no state to argue with me! You'll undo all of Sakura's hard work doing that!"

Naruto started towards Sasuke, intending to support him.

"Don't touch me!" hissed Sasuke, backing away.

"Let me help you! It's time for you to come back to Konoha. You did it Sasuke," he said waving a hand over Itachi's corpse. "You killed him, you've avenged your family! You can come home now... please," he added when Sasuke sneered at his words.

"I can't do that Naruto," he said, standing a little straighter. "My task is not finished, one more must die. The man who stood beside Itachi and helped murder my family."

"Who?"

Sasuke didn't answer, he seemed to be assessing the damage to his own body. Naruto suspected Sasuke was working out whether he could be persuaded to leave him alone. But Naruto wouldn't give up, and Sasuke knew that.

"You know you can't fight me right now, and you know I'm not going to let you walk away from here," said Naruto, his voice hard. Now, in the face of the man he loved, he was almost trembling with anticipation at his sure victory. He would finally have his best friend back where he belonged!

Sasuke was looking around for an escape route now. Naruto took a step closer and the Uchiha sent him a warning look. If he dared touch the proud man again Sasuke would choose to fight.

"Come home. Even bring your team with you," Naruto said, trying his best not to appear jealous that Sasuke had found himself a new team. "Regroup, recover and then hunt this last murderer with me at your side."

Sasuke looked up at this. Naruto was right in front of him, in his personal space by Sasuke standard's but not yet touching him. "And if Konoha won't let you fight beside a traitor?" he asked scornfully.

"Then I'll turn traitor with you."

This of all things surprised Sasuke, "Konoha is home to you, would you throw that away so easily?"

"It's not the same without you. You know I would follow you to the end of the earth, Sasuke. I want to free you from this burden, so let me help."

Naruto reached out daring to touch Sasuke's shoulder. In an instant his wrist was seized and a strong hand was at his throat, preventing him from drawing breath. Sasuke leaned in close with a sneer.

"You've gotten better at lying I'll give you that Naruto," he hissed venomously. "But I've dealt with the worst of snakes so don't try it on me."

"Not lying," gasped Naruto, his free hand clutching at Sasuke's chest. "-Love you," he choked out.

This caught Sasuke by surprise and he loosened his grip, just slightly. That was all the opportunity Naruto needed to lean forward and press his lips firmly against Sasuke's.

_-End Flashback-_

Naruto suppressed a smile as he remembered how Sasuke had glared at his Konoha captors all the way home telling them in no uncertain terms that he _could_ kill them if he chose to. Kakashi had insisted on binding his hands in chakra suppressors and the Uchiha hadn't taken kindly to that at all. Still he had bared with it and his makeshift team had been docile as long as he was, though Suigetsu had been keen to prove his mouth even more dirty that Sasuke's and Karin had taken a personal dislike to Sakura.

"_It's not possible,_" he said softly, stroking Sasuke's bare waist.

"_I know,_" Sasuke sighed softly. "_It just brings back memories, seeing him like that again._"

"_Yeah. So is it a genjutsu?_"

"_Possibly a henge, I haven't been able to see past it yet. He's only appeared very briefly._"

"_Do we tell Sakura and Kakashi?_" asked Naruto, distractedly drawing circles over Sasuke's skin.

"_Hmm, not yet. When I know exactly what I'm seeing we'll tell them._"

Naruto nodded in agreement and nuzzled his nose into the back of Sasuke's hair. "_Morning sex?_" he asked hopefully.

Sasuke chuckled and leaned around to kiss him lightly. "_Best save our energy, we want to put on a good show, don't we?_"

Naruto let out a disappointed whine and pouted. "_I have plenty of energy._"

"_Not all of us have your stamina," _he said as he pushed the crimson hangings aside and climbed out of bed, stretching luxuriously in the cold morning light.

Naruto lay in bed a while longer watching his boyfriend perform his usual morning stretches. Sasuke had a very set routine when it came to caring for his body which involved regulated exercise, taking meticulous care over his morning and evening stretches and eating specific healthy foods. Now Naruto was by no means a slouch when it came down to training, technically he trained even more than Sasuke simply because he had the energy to do so, but he didn't have any particular routine and his eating habits were far from healthy. He very much enjoyed watching this part of his boyfriend's regime. Watching those long limbs bend into perfectly controlled stances. Watching those sinewy muscles flexing under smooth pale skin. And watching those tight buttocks as Sasuke bent over to set his hands flat on the floor.

And that was the end of the routine. Sasuke smirked at him, grabbed spare clothes and a towel before he henged into a fabricated student and left a certain blond ninja in bed with a not-so-small case of morning glory. Naruto groaned and dragged his ass out of bed, stretching quickly and following Sasuke.

Naruto tracked what little he could gleam of his boyfriend's chakra to the bathroom nearest Gryffindor Tower. With a cheeky grin he slipped into the shower stall next to Sasuke's. Turning the water on as hot as it would go he soaped up and trailed his hands over his own tan skin, enjoying the sensations he inflicted on himself. Taking his sweet time, Naruto proceeded to take care of his morning gift. He was as generous and vocal with himself as he was with Sasuke and dedicated half of his senses to Sasuke in the next cubicle. Naruto gained infinite satisfaction from knowing that Sasuke was listening whether he wanted to or not.

When he was done he washed up and slung a towel around his waist. Then he opened the stall door to nearly jump out of his skin when he was met by a half naked Uchiha.

"That was more evil than you're usually capable of," remarked Sasuke, leaning casually against the door frame. He licked his lips slowly and sensuously. Predictably Naruto's eyes were immediately drawn there.

"An eye for an eye..." said Naruto, gulping as Sasuke's expression turned feral.

"'An eye'?" mused Sasuke, letting his own eyes bleed red with the Sharingan.

The hungry look he was wearing combined with the dangerous Sharingan and his lithe torso, right down to those low slung trousers reminded Naruto exactly why he wanted this man in his bed at every opportunity. His mouth began to water, was there ever a sexier sight than this? Naruto didn't think so. His heart sped up rapidly as Sasuke stalked into the cubicle roughly backing Naruto up against the cold tiles. The Uchiha smirked at him, the comas in his crimson eyes spinning in a deadly reminder of the destruction he could bring with just a glance. Naruto let loose an involuntary shiver and reached for Sasuke, this was what he loved about him. One could almost believe Sasuke had been tamed but he would always prove you otherwise, this dangerous and wild side of him made Naruto want to keep trying to tame him, even while he knew it was futile.

And Sasuke once again proved that he was the one in control. As Naruto reached for him, a flicker in the raven's powerful eyes reminded him that Sasuke didn't take kindly to manipulation. There was a swift punch to his abdomen that effectively knocked the air out of him. Then as he attempted to suck it back in again a pale hand snatched the towel from around his waist. By the time Naruto stepped out of the stall Sasuke was gone, as were his pyjama's. Naruto groaned when he realised he hadn't brought a change of clothes in his horny rush to follow Sasuke in here.

He quickly assessed his options. 1. Scale the castle walls in the nude until he reached the tower, but if anyone was looking up he'd be in extra trouble. 2. Transform into someone else, of course he'd still be naked. 3. Try and pull off Shunshin no Jutsu. Option number three was definitely the preferable method for a dignified shinobi, however Naruto had never been particularly good at the body flicker.

Shrugging he resolved to give it a go in order to save what was left of his dented ego. Concentrating on visualizing the route he would need to take he began gathering a large amount of chakra in order to temporarily vitalise his body. That was the problem he had with this jutsu; it all happened so fast that he never quite got the destination right. He rather envied Kakashi's skill in this matter.

So after performing the necessary seals and concentrating on his route Naruto wasn't overly surprised when he appeared outside of the Gryffindor common room looking at a startled portrait of the Fat Lady.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shrieked indignantly.

Naruto ignored her and spoke the password, crawling through the portrait hole only to be faced by Ron, Hermione and Harry who were all sitting around the base of the Christmas tree.

"What the fuck man?!" cried Ron jumping to his feet.

"Aw c'mon it isn't like you haven't seen a naked body before," protested Naruto as he hid his goods from view.

"There is a lady present! Have a little modesty!" Ron cried valiantly. Naruto noticed both Hermione and Harry were looking away blushing.

"Maa, it's Sasuke-bastard's fault," grumbled Naruto as he headed for the stairs to the boy dormitories.

**-0-**

At breakfast Sasuke sat at the Gryffindor table. He could do this without raising suspicions as the only other Slytherin who had decided to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays was Draco and he was nowhere to be seen. It was a fairly believable cover story that Sasuke got lonely on that table all by himself. Besides he didn't even have to wear his Slytherin uniform during the holidays so Sasuke was once again dressed in non-descript black clothes. He wished he could don his usual ninja attire, but that would definitely look out of place.

He had however taken to carrying his 'musical instrument' case around with him, at least during the holidays. Harry had informed them that Malfoy staying at Hogwarts over Christmas was highly suspicious so they were on the lookout and it was comforting to have his sword by his side again. The boy seemed to be avoiding mealtimes, instead collecting food from the kitchens at irregular intervals. The only time Sasuke really saw him was when he returned late at night to sleep. Sasuke had waited up for him since this routine had begun, never asking questions, just watching silently from his own bed. Sasuke had a feeling that asking wouldn't get him the answers he wanted, so he was biding his time.

"Eat up already!" exclaimed Ron after rushing down his own breakfast.

"Calm down, Ron, we have plenty of time," replied Hermione cajolingly.

Ron fidgeted whilst everybody else finished their breakfast at normal pace. Sasuke decided to eat extra slowly just to piss him off, something that Naruto seemed to find hilarious. However their game was up when Sakura marched up to the Gryffindor table, ready to go. Kakashi had opted out of the demonstration, though he agreed it was a good idea he had more 'important' business to take care of, leaving them to the training exercise.

So five minutes later the three young Konoha ninja stood in an upper-floor hallway, opposite a rather entertaining painting, wondering why they had followed their wizard companions up here.

"We can't fight here," stated Sasuke firmly.

"Yeah, I was thinking the Forbidden Forest might be more suitable," added Naruto hopefully; though he had no wish to run into the horse-people again, he had enjoyed fighting in a wooded environment that was so much like home. Besides they could use more destructive jutsu there.

"Don't worry the Room of Requirement will do fine," Hermione informed them. "You should conjure it though, since you know how much space we'll need."

"A lot," muttered Sakura, "These two tend to get a little... over-enthusiastic."

Hermione looked nervously between Sasuke, who smirked devilishly and Naruto who was bouncing up and down in excitement. "Alright... Well just walk from here," she motioned to a vase on a plinth, "To there," she waved at a particularly dusty tapestry, "Three times thinking about what you need."

"A place to train?"

"Exactly."

The three ninja did as they were told, in truth not expecting much to happen. They may have been living in this world for several months but the stretch of wall they marched in front of looked pretty standard and none of them felt the surge of magick until they had finished their final walk. When it happened they all took cautious stances in time to witness a door materialize.

"Let's see what you came up with," said Harry, shooting the bewildered ninja a comical look.

He pulled the heavy door forward and walked inside, the rest following him quickly. Even Harry confessed himself impressed; the Room had seemingly outdone itself for their guests. In fact it barely looked like a room at all, more like a lighter version of the Forbidden Forest. They had stepped through a door embedded in the trunk of an enormous tree and now stood in the long grass of a wide forest clearing. There was a series of wooden posts and training dolls beside a small river that appeared to flow from nowhere, to nowhere. Harry was reminded of the classroom Dumbledore had made for Firenze last year, even the ceiling resembled the Great Hall's mimicry of the sky, but he'd had no idea the Room was capable of such strong magic. The Konoha ninja seemed just as stunned as them.

Sakura frowned and clasped her hands together. "_Kai_!" she cried, but still the forest looked real. "_It is a genjutsu, ne Sasuke-kun?"_ she asked uncertainly.

Sasuke looked around with Sharingan eyes, "_I don't think so. It's definitely magical and I can see pillars so we're still in the castle, but otherwise... it's real,"_ he said, running an experimental hand through the grass. He sounded reluctant to admit that even with his bloodline he was at a loss to explain this one.

Naruto was the first to dismiss the strange nature of their surroundings; if Sasuke thought it was legitimate then it was good enough for him. "Awesome, let's get down to business! Who's ass am I beating first?" he asked enthusiastically looking from Ron to Sasuke.

"Well we don't really want anyone's ass kicked," said Hermione quickly.

"Oh I dunno about that, Hermione," Ron drawled, looking pointedly at Sasuke.

Sasuke snorted quietly and Ron visibly rankled at the suggestion that he couldn't beat the Slytherin ninja. Hermione put a firm hand on Ron's arm to prevent him reaching for his wand and watched as Sakura took charge, once again admiring her in her mother hen role.

"Okay, no sparring at all if it can't be done without having a real fight. First things first: that 'shield charm' you mentioned, Ron; we're going to need to work out a way past it."

Sasuke nodded approvingly at the practical approach and Ron drew himself up proudly. Hermione let go so that he could cast the shield charm and Naruto grinned as he faced up against it. The shield glistened faintly, almost like the surface of a bubble that rippled when Naruto threw an experimental kunai at it. He frowned as Ron gloated and then threw every weapon he had at the almost invisible barrier which promptly shattered. Ron gave a cry but Sasuke was quick enough to deflect the weapons that rained down on him in the absence of his shield.

Naruto was grinning manically. "Thought muggle weapons weren't good enough?" he scoffed happily.

Ron huffed, fully prepared to sulk about his premature defeat. But Hermione was quick to comfort him and suggest that Harry have a go, since his shield charm was stronger than both of theirs. Harry privately thought that Hermione's was almost equal to his but Ron didn't seem in the mood to take more hits to his self-esteem. So instead he just cast the charm and stayed silent.

The next few minutes were filled with Naruto's increasingly erratic attempts to break Harry's defence. Meanwhile Ron stood as a bystander, torn between gloating over the useless muggle weapons and shame at the proof of how weak his own shield charm was. He knew Harry was better than everyone at Defence Against the Dark Arts but it still stung each time his friend outdid him.

"Is it my turn yet?" asked Sasuke casually leaning against one of the wooden posts. He had his sword out of its case and was fingering the handle lovingly.

Harry blanched just a little. He didn't doubt that his shield would hold up against a sword when Naruto had just thrown some kind of explosive at him, but the Uchiha looked particularly dangerous at this moment. Though Sasuke was hired to protect him, he was still a Slytherin and a deadly ninja with a somewhat menacingly demeanour. Somehow it was a lot easier to believe that the loud, friendly blond wouldn't hurt him.

Naruto grumped as Sasuke stood and drew his sword. As he approached Harry, lightening began to crackle along it's length. Naruto must have noticed too because he stepped into Sasuke's path; a brave act in Harry's eyes.

"No way, you are not using Chidori! I held back from Rasengan, that is so cheating!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "It's not a real Chidori, it's Chidori Nagashi. It'll just increase the blade's cutting power."

"That's it!" cried Naruto, "Just give me one more go!"

Turning away from Sasuke he snatched up one of the kunai that Harry's shield had deflected and concentrated on remembering Asuma's brief teachings. Channeling chakra into the blade and forcing it to obtain the wind-natured shape he had been taught, Naruto threw the glowing kunai and watched with satisfaction as it sailed past Harry's left ear to make a sizable dent in the tree behind him.

Harry looked over his shoulder in surprise; he had barely felt the ripple as the knife had slipped right through his shield. However the barrier was still intact. That was until Sasuke walked right up to him and swung his sword, once, twice, three times and his shield was effectively destroyed.

Sasuke smirked at him and Harry accepted his defeat graciously, silently praying he never came up against the Uchiha in a real fight. A second later Sakura also demanded a go at breaking the shield charm. Hermione smiled and stepped forward obligingly. Harry observed that the two seemed to have found a mutual friendship that involved bonding over the exploits of their boys. He had always suspected Hermione viewed them that way and seeing her next to Sakura made it all the more obvious. Sakura actually turned out to be the quickest to break the shield though Harry half suspected Hermione had merely lowered it to avoid another earth quaking punch to her defences. Apparently Sakura's size largely belied her strength.

They passed most of the day in the Room of Requirement exchanging spells and jutsu. The Konoha ninja revealed their individual arsenals, Naruto even going so far as to destroy one of the trees with a well placed Rasengan when Sasuke had briefly shown them his Chidori. After that incident Naruto had received an earful from Sakura about readily using one of his most dangerous jutsu when Sasuke hadn't felt the need to point his Chidori at anything.

"Maa, Sakura-chan, you know I'm not good a just getting rid of it once I've got a good Rasengan going," Naruto had protested as he aimed his best puppy dog eyes at her.

Still the day had been fun as well as informative. There had been a certain amount of animosity between the separate wizarding and shinobi parties over who's brand of magic was most effective. But Harry, Ron and Hermione had enjoyed the demonstration of walking on water and the ninja had been fascinated by the spells they witnessed many of which were beautiful and diverse. Sakura was particularly impressed by the way wands seemed to amplify the wizards own magic so that they rarely suffered from magical exhaustion. She did not have the same chakra reserves that Sasuke and Naruto boasted, meaning that her own jutsu were somewhat limited. Sakura had been watching the students in their potions class and was thoroughly intrigued. Although she knew the endless power a wand held was out of her reach she resolved to try her hand at potions before this mission was done.

"I'm hungry," moaned Ron sometime in the afternoon.

"Well maybe you should have taken more time over breakfast," Hermione managed to say without a hint of smugness.

"Maa I'm hungry too and I haven't even beaten Sasuke-bastard yet," complained Naruto rubbing his growling stomach.

"Why have you extended my name?" asked Sasuke coldly.

"Because _teme_ doesn't work so well in Britain," answered Naruto, jumping to his feet with a grin and Sasuke pushed away from his leaning post. "Like it?" he taunted facing up to his boyfriend.

"What do you think, idiot?" Sasuke set a hand on his sword.

"Heh 'idiot'? Sasuke, I think you're losing your touch." Naruto twirled a kunai through his fingers.

"Hmm the English language doesn't work for me, Naruto-baka flows so much better," said Sasuke casually, refusing to be wound up. "Or just a simple... _dobe._"

As usual Naruto was the first to make a move, running forward with a battle cry that was charged by his humiliation this morning. He lashed out with a kunai unsurprised when Sasuke parried the blow with his sword. The pair quickly exchanged moves, as their spectators edged away from the onslaught. Sakura, being the only one familiar with their vigorous sparring appeared unconcerned over her teammates apparent attempts to kill each other. To her their deadly dance was easily recognisable and she watched carefully, dissecting it into the separate moves that each shinobi combined in a series of complicated combos. However, when Naruto put a little too much power behind a kick causing him to overbalance and Sasuke took the chance to put a deep gash in the skin of Naruto's back, she was forced to step in. Hermione gasped at the blood seeping through Naruto's blue shirt but he was too busy getting back at Sasuke's to care.

"Enough!" shouted Sakura hurrying forward.

Sasuke had dodged out of Naruto's way at the sound of her voice and the blond looked up from the ground at her. Kneeling beside him, she passed a quick healing hand over his back to assess the damage but didn't do anything to correct it; his inmate was already healing it nicely.

"_C'mon Sakura-chan, we were only just getting started!_"

"_I didn't do any real damage_," said Sasuke flatly.

Anyone who didn't already have years of experience reading him wouldn't have picked up on the defensive and offended tones in his voice, but Sakura heard them and gave him a reassuring smile.

"_For my piece of mind and for the pleasure of your audience, think you can leave weapons out of this one? Pure taijutsu match, yeah?"_

Sasuke nodded and reluctantly threw his sword and weapons pouches in a pile on the grass, watching as Naruto did the same. When they faced each other again they did so with even more enthusiasm. Sometimes it was better to spar this way; without weapons no one had to worry about causing too much damage so they could lay into each other as much as they wanted. The duelling pair truthfully forgot the presence of their audience, getting lost in the adrenaline of the fight until both submitted to exhaustion.

After that spectacular end the wizards were forced to admit that when it came down to fighting the ninja had the edge. Amazingly this concession came about with no hard feelings once Naruto let slip that they were trained to kill from the tender age of 5. It was rather easy to admit that the ninja were the better fighters once you knew they'd had their childhood stolen from them even sooner than Harry himself had. At least he hadn't been told about all the mortal peril until he was 11.

Considering the pity he saw on Hermione's face at least, Sasuke was quite glad they knew nothing of his own personal family tragedy or Konoha's early treatment of the blond man at his side. He didn't want the wizard's sympathy but there was a larger part of him that didn't want them looking down on their upbringing. Sasuke was rather proud of being a shinobi and was a firm believer of a challenging childhood raising a strong man. He knew Naruto shared his opinion there; the blond would never hear a word against the way Konoha did things. After all, their own practices might be harsh compared to those of the wizarding world, but in the ninja world Konoha's training program was positively soft compared to that of the Hidden Mist.

Sakura thought it was only right that ninja be the better fighters when it was their specialty. She was willing to admit that seeing some of the uses of the wizard's magic had made her somewhat jealous. At home chakra was rarely used for anything other than combat but here magic was ingrained in every part of their lives.

Eventually all three of the Konoha ninja admitted to exhaustion, Sakura partly from healing the boys. The session had been useful; Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura knew they could overcome a shield but also realised they would need to dodge most spells when it came to a fight. They were each of them thoroughly satisfied that they had left the Gryffindor trio with confidence in their fighting abilities as well as a first hand experience of their world.

* * *

**A/N:** I won't make any promises about the next chapter, because goddess knows I won't keep them. ^^; Hope you liked it!

-Yasu


	9. Mrs Norris

**A/N:** I'm not even going to apologise this time. You should probably consider this story dead after a record 2 year absence but since it's nearly Christmas here's another chapter for anyone who hasn't given up and removed AMM from their alerts yet.

* * *

Sasuke sighed and settled himself next to Draco. The Christmas holidays were over and they were back in Potions class. Though he wasn't required to do any actual work, Sasuke did his best to listen and understand their lessons in a further attempt to arm against the enemy. He was still reading his way through the restricted section of the library, now with Hermione and Sakura's assistance and Harry had filled the shinobi in on his own experiences with the Dark Lord.

He rubbed his eyes wearily. Staying up each night, waiting on Draco's return, was making him look nearly as wretched as his Slytherin housemate. Speaking of Draco the blond boy was swaying. Sasuke watched as his head dropped, once, twice and then finally slumped sideways onto his shoulder. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably as Draco fell sideways into him. He rolled his eyes, this was ridiculous! At an opposite bench Naruto frowned at him while Ron and Harry fell about in fits of silent laughter. Sasuke gave Draco a long look before charging a little Chidori Nagashi to his fingertips and giving the boy a good jab in the side. Grey eyes shot open as he yelped in surprise. Then a multitude of emotions flitted over his face; surprise, anger, indignation and embarrassment were visible before he sent a glare at Sasuke who gave him his most unconvincing look of innocence.

Throughout the lesson Draco seemed to concentrate on staying awake at the expense of all other skills so that his final product was a potion that looked little better than Ron's. At the end of the lesson when Snape requested he stay behind for a moment Draco looked so positively murderous that Sasuke half expected him to refuse.

"What is up with Malfoy?" asked Ron incredulously as they left the dungeons.

Though the question wasn't directed at anyone in particular Harry and Hermione both turned to look at Sasuke.

He shrugged, "Too many late nights."

"Hmm, you don't look much better," said Hermione in the motherly fashion that she had eventually decided to extend to the Slytherin ninja.

Sasuke knew that her worrying showed that she had finally deemed him trustworthy, but he still found it annoying. He didn't answer her and when they reached the Entrance Hall Naruto pulled him away from the group.

"_She's right you know. Maybe instead of waiting up for him we should be following him."_

"'_We'?"_

"_Yeah, well I know Harry has tried a few times but we'd have more luck. It's what ninja do."_

"_It__'__s __what__ ninja __like _me _do,__"_ Sasuke corrected him. Before Naruto could interrupt he added. "_Ninja __like __you __kick __people__'__s__ asses__ in__ a __very __heroic__ and__ public __kind __of __way.__"_

Naruto looked surprised for a moment and then grinned.

"_Yeah, I guess someone needs to do all the ass kicking."_

Sasuke rolled his eyes and let it slide. As they wandered out into the snowy castle grounds his eyes were automatically drawn to the lakeside. Naruto followed his gaze.

"_Have you seen any more of Itachi?"_

Sasuke shook his head. _"__Not__ since __before __Christmas.__ Still, __I__'__ve__ been__ thinking__ about__ that __last __time.__"_

"_And?"_

"_And I think it was a henge."_

Naruto looked out towards the lake and nodded. _"__So__ we __can__ tell __Sakura __and __Kakashi__ now?__"_

"_Yeah,__"_ he hesitated for a moment. "_I__ still __don__'__t __like__ it __though.__ Whoever __it __was __must __have __known __Itachi __which __narrows __it __down__ to __ninja __of __the __leaf __or __Akatsuki. __It __was __definitely __someone__ strong __because __despite __knowing __I __was __looking__ at __a __henge__ I __couldn__'__t __see__ who __stood__ behind__ it. __Also__, why__ stand __around__ in __the __grounds, __why __not __break __into __the __castle?__ And __why __this __sudden__ absence?__"_

Naruto shrugged, "_Maybe __Kakashi __will __be __able __to __shed __some__ light __on __it.__"_

**-0-**

"_Why __didn__'__t __you __tell __us __before __now?__"_ was Kakashi's first question.

"_There was nothing to tell. You'd probably have thought I was going mad. Even I wasn't sure it wasn't my own eyes playing tricks on me."_

"_So there is a ninja out there who knows about Itachi and also knew you were in the castle. This is tricky. Until we know more we can't be sure if the enemy is after you or using you as a way of getting to Harry. There is also the worry of how they were able to enter the grounds, the Headmaster assured me at the beginning of term that there were spells in place to prevent unauthorised access to the school."_

"_Well __maybe __they __don__'__t __apply __to __ninja?__"_ asked Naruto helpfully.

Kakashi paused in his pacing. "_I __have__ tried __to __get __past __them__ and __they__ seemed __pretty __solid__ to __me. __Still __this __enemy __may __have __his __own __ways, __which __of __course __makes __him__ all __the __more __dangerous.__"_

**-0-**

Naruto had been hyper all week, that was, more hyper than usual. On Monday the notice had gone up in all the common rooms that the upper years would be permitted to visit the local village of Hogsmeade on the weekend. Naruto and Sakura had visited Hogsmeade with the Gryffindor trio back in August but Sasuke hadn't been with them. After finding out the Draco would be staying back at the castle he had decided to stay as well. But after that approach had ended in Sasuke hanging around the castle with no idea where Draco had disappeared to, he had decided to accompany them this time.

Saturday morning dawned cold and windy. Snow still blanketed the world outside but Naruto didn't mind wading through it to get to Zonko's joke shop and Honeydukes. He suspected Sasuke didn't feel the same way though, if his scowling expression was any indication. He was wrapped as warmly as all of them but Naruto knew his boyfriend felt the cold much easier than him. He resisted the urge to draw him close, partly because they were surrounded by students and partly because Sasuke would probably rebuff him, not that that usually stopped Naruto from trying.

The village was quaint in that odd British way but it was bigger than Naruto had expected; closer in size to Tanzuki town than the villages that surrounded Konoha's borders. When Naruto's voiced his surprise quietly Sasuke shrugged.

"_I suspect being close to Hogwarts boosts income; encourages growth."_

Naruto nodded, wishing, not for the first time, that Sasuke didn't always have an answer to everything.

Sasuke was surprised at the level of relief he felt when they finally moved towards The Three Broomsticks; shopping was exhausting. He had made very few purchases, very conscious of the fact that they were supposed to be on a mission rather than enjoying a weekend away from schoolwork. When Sakura had asked him if he was okay he had deigned to purchase a few practical items.

Naruto on the other hand was thoroughly enjoying the shopping trip. His backpack was noticeably heavier than it had been this morning. Sasuke took a seat with a full view of the bar room and tuned out the others in favour of scouting out possible escape routes, fighting advantages and suspicious characters, very aware of the fact that they were outside of the castle's protection for the first time in months.

He was therefore surprised when Naruto pushed a foaming tankard of some brown liquid under his nose.

"_Drink up. It's butterbeer; it will warm you up."_

"_Beer?"_

"_Yeah!"_

"_We're not old enough."_

"_We__'__re__ older__ than__ this __lot,__"_ Naruto motioned at their present company.

Sasuke looked around and noted that most of their group of six had purchased the same foamy drink. He sniffed at it discreetly.

"_It__'__s__ safe __Sasuke-kun,__"_ said Sakura quietly. He trusted her judgement as a medic nin but was still hesitant.

"_It__'__s__ alcoholic?__" _She nodded._ "__We__ are __on __a__ mission; __I __hardly __think__ it __would __be __a__ good __idea...__"_

"_It__ isn__'__t __very__ strong__ at__ all,__" _said Sakura resisting the urge to tell him to stop worrying; he never took kindly to that.

Sasuke felt Naruto take his hand under the table.

"_You__'__re__ freezing,__ drink __it.__"_

Sasuke frowned but took an experimental sip from his tankard. It was oddly sweet and buttery for an alcoholic drink, but true to Naruto's word he felt warmth slip down his throat, spreading slowly through his cold body. He really hoped it was a weak drink because, unlike Naruto, he couldn't boast a high alcohol tolerance.

**-0-**

Sasuke fought away the fuzziness that had settled over him whilst in the comforting warmth of The Three Broomsticks. They were outside once more, trudging up the road back to Hogwarts. Naruto's shoulder jostled his and he resisted the urge to lean on him; he just wanted to be back up at the castle so they could find somewhere private where he didn't need to be on guard.

When the group stumbled to a halt, Sasuke felt it too; a spike of magical aura that made him uneasy. Up ahead two girls were arguing and as they watched one made a grab at the package the other carried. As it ripped between them the girl carrying the package rose into the air screaming as though caught in some macabre version of Draco's foot hitching spell.

He followed as their group ran forward but before they could attempt anything to free her she began to fall. Naruto caught her while Sasuke looked accusingly at the other girl. But the look on her face was enough to reveal that she wasn't the guilty party here. Sasuke followed her gaze as she glanced at the ripped package spilling its opal necklace over the snow.

It was Harry who took charge of the situation; bending to gather up the opals, careful not to touch them.

"We need to get her back to the castle," he said glancing around nervously. Sasuke was glad to see this display of caution.

"Where shall I take her?" asked Naruto struggling to hold the girl who had begun to fit.

"Give her 'ere!"

Sasuke turned as a giant figure loped towards them. Hagrid skidded to a halt. After a nod from Harry, Naruto handed the girl over. Hagrid had no trouble holding onto her as Harry also gave him the suspicious jewels.

**-0-**

Harry chewed his lip nervously as he stared into the common room fire. Naruto lay on the thick hearth rug while Hermione talked Ron through the finer points of the latest potion Snape had thrown at them. His mind buzzed. Pieces of the puzzle that refused to fit together added to his worry about Katie Bell.

He kept replaying the conversation he had heard between Malfoy and Snape just before the Christmas holidays had started. It was obvious Malfoy was up to something but Harry couldn't be sure what Snape's role was. He just couldn't believe that the man was innocently following Dumbledore's orders. But then what did he know about what Dumbledore wanted? He might have ordered Snape to kill them all for all Harry knew; the headmaster had been distant with him all year and he knew he wasn't the only person to have noticed Dumbledore's random absences.

He cast a suspicious eye over the blond boy sprawling over the floor in front of him. Harry thought that his ninja bodyguards had probably been recruited specifically because Dumbledore knew he would be absent at times this year. It made him wonder if Naruto knew what Dumbledore was doing. Probably not; Kakashi was their leader, so he might have more information though he wasn't likely to share it.

Naruto stirred, stretching luxuriously. Harry blushed slightly as the boys shirt rode up a few inches, exposing toned muscles. He shook his head, frustrated with himself. He had seen Ginny yesterday; upset after a fight with Dean. It should have bolstered his past certainty that they belonged together but all he had been able to muster was a faint pity and a genuine wish that it would work out for her. It made him kind of sad, as though he had lost something that he'd never had. On the bright side though, he'd never have to face Ron with the fact that he'd liked his best friend's sister.

Still he wasn't quite ready to face the odd feelings he had been having recently.

"What is it?" asked Naruto quietly from the hearth. He had propped himself up and was watching Harry with a surprisingly serious expression on his face.

Harry took a moment to recover from being caught brooding. He was heartily glad that Naruto hadn't drawn Hermione and Ron's attention.

"Want to go for a walk?" he asked conspiratorially.

"Sure, where?"

Harry glanced out of the window. The night was surely bitter, but at least it had stopped snowing. Naruto followed his gaze.

"Why out there?"

"I want to see if Hagrid has any news of Katie."

Naruto nodded at the reasonable explanation. They both knew that they weren't allowed out in the halls at this time of night. It was unlikely that any of the teachers would protest Naruto's presence as a ninja guard but Harry knew he would need to employ a little more stealth.

The pair, therefore, told Ron and Hermione that they were turning in for the night and headed for the dorm room. Naruto moved immediately towards the window, assuming that he was required for the scaling of the castle but Harry waved him away; he had no wish to attempt such death-defying stunts in pitch dark whilst the wind wailed around Gryffindor tower. Besides he just felt like walking somewhere; anywhere.

Naruto's exclamation when Harry disappeared under the invisibility cloak was, as per usual, loud. Harry quickly shushed him, pulling the cloak away from his head so that Naruto could see his head. This didn't help the situation.

"Quick, close the hangings over your bed and get under here," he hissed, tugging his own shut.

Naruto recovered enough to nod mutely. However just before getting under the cloak he appeared to have an idea. As the ninja clasped his hands together in a strange shape two more versions of Naruto appeared in the dorm room. Having seen the spell in the Room of Requirement Harry didn't jump… too much. One of the clones suddenly poofed into an exact replica of Harry that made him gape and the pair of them jumped into their respective beds.

"Make's the cover a little more complete I think. Of course if Sasuke sees this he'll rumble us immediately."

The journey through the quiet castle was difficult. Naruto, being more uncoordinated that Harry thought any ninja had a right being, kept jostling him under the cloak. So far it was not the relaxing walk he had hoped for. Normally he would have gone by himself but clearly Dumbledore's current absence combined with the ninja's presence was making him paranoid about his own personal safety. Harry didn't like feeling on edge within Hogwarts; the impregnable castle was his home.

When Naruto stood on his heel for the fiftieth time he opened his mouth to suggest the boy jump out of the window and meet him in the grounds when he saw something that made him stop in his tracks. Naruto promptly crashed into him.

Draco stood quickly from his seat in the window sill.

"Who's there?" he demanded; voice steady as he lit his wand.

Harry was frozen in shock as Draco unconsciously stared right through him. The Slytherin's face was streaked with tears that he had apparently forgotten shedding. The beast in his chest that had once roared jealously over Ginny now seemed to pine; whining softly as he wished once more that he knew what Draco was up to. But now that wish was laced with worry over what Draco had gotten himself mixed up in.

"Meow."

Harry looked down in surprise to find Mrs Norris wandering down the corridor towards Malfoy. He drew back in alarm but for once she didn't turn her lamp-like eyes on him to remind him that she knew he was there. His gaze snapped back to the Slytherin as he cursed and turned to flee down the corridor.

Harry was about to signal that they should head in the opposite direction when Mrs Norris disappeared in a puff of smoke. He stared in amazement before squinting at Naruto's under the cloak. He shrugged.

"I thought the caretaker's dreaded cat would be better since it doesn't involve dialogue."

Harry nodded, silently consenting to not let Naruto's clumsiness irritate him anymore; there were benefits to having a ninja for a friend. Harry paused to rethink that statement as they descended the marble staircase; he wasn't sure that Naruto really considered him a friend; the boy just wouldn't get paid if Harry died. Perhaps that was as far as they went. He nodded to himself; friend was a bit presumptuous.

**-0-**

In the end the trip to Hagrid's had served only to solve his restlessness. The gatekeeper had had no news of Katie other than that which Harry already knew and had instead shouted at the pair of them for venturing outside at this time of night.

* * *

**A/N:** There might be another chapter over the holidays if I can muster it. I'm not sure yet. x

-Yasu


	10. Trust

**A/N: **How sad is it that I chose to be alone this year for Christmas? It feels strange that's for sure.

Anyhow, YULETIDE GREETINGS! *waves chapter*

* * *

Naruto had been watching Harry carefully since they had visited the gamekeeper the night before and discovered exactly what Katie's friend had said about the mysterious necklace. It hadn't been particularly useful knowing where she had collected the parcel from and that just made the matter even more frustrating. Despite what some people thought about him, Naruto could actually be quite perceptive sometimes. He supposed hanging around Sasuke for so long had forced him to learn how to read people better. Something was on Harry's mind.

So when evening came, he hung back with Harry in the common room as first Hermione and then Ron left for the dormitories. The boy barely noticed his presence, entranced, as he was, by the flames dancing in the fireplace. Naruto touched his shoulder and Harry started in surprise.

"Something's bothering you," the ninja stated.

Harry stared at him for a moment. "Of course it is; one of my teammates is lying in the hospital wing."

"It's not just that."

If he doubted his own words the look on Harry's face as he turned back to the fire soon changed that. Worry and frustration battled across his features.

"No..." Harry said slowly, glancing around to make sure they weren't in danger of being overheard.

His caution only ignited Naruto's curiosity further. Harry seemed to be weighting up whether he could trust Naruto with his thoughts.

"You have suspicions about the necklace?" He prompted gently.

Harry's gaze shot straight back to him. "How did you...?"

Naruto shrugged. "It is a suspicious incident."

In reality his guess had more to do with the fact that he had spoken to Sasuke this morning. The other shinobi had been anxious to discuss what Naruto had found out the night before. Naruto was unsurprised to learn that Sasuke had tracked his chakra signature to the gamekeeper's hut. But Sasuke had been as frustrated as Naruto with the lack of information.

"You mustn't repeat this to anyone, got it?"

"I might need to," Naruto replied honestly settling himself on the floor in front of Harry.

"Who, Sasuke?" Naruto nodded, slightly surprised; apparently Harry was rather more observant than he had given him credit for. "I don't see why you trust him so much, but I trust you... so okay."

Naruto smiled, pleased that he had earned Harry's trust. "Thank you," he said, and meant it.

"Whatever. Anyway I reckon Malfoy might have something to do with it. And I'm not just saying that because we don't get along; you know he's been up to something all year."

"You think he's trying to kill you."

"No!" Harry snapped, quickly defensive. Naruto raised an eyebrow and Harry coughed, composing himself. "Voldemort wouldn't give him a mission like that, since I'm pretty certain he wants to do the deed himself and I don't think Malfoy would kill me just for kicks."

"You don't know that," grumbled Naruto, who still didn't like the fact that Sasuke seemed be kindling a strange friendship with the boy. "Or maybe Voldie's gotten bored trying to do it himself."

Harry quirked him a small smile. "Maybe, but unlikely. Draco isn't a murderer."

Naruto noted the use of the Slytherin's first name with a frown.

"You don't really hate him do you?"

"What?"

"Draco."

"Of course I do, he's a total git!" Harry's voice held conviction but he couldn't quite look Naruto in the eye.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that." Harry looked annoyed so Naruto added, "That's not an insult. Anyway I wasn't asking whether Malfoy is a git or not since I don't really think that's up for debate. Just look at Sasuke; he's an absolute bastard but that doesn't stop me loving him."

Harry looked down at him in shock. "Love?"

Naruto nodded, unsure of why he was sharing this with the boy, except he felt it might help in some small way. "Sometimes that line between love and hate is ridiculously fine.

"When we were younger I think everyone believed we really did hate each other. Even later on I think Sasuke mostly just hated me because he ran off to go play at being evil and I refused to let him. It wasn't just play fighting back then, he put a hole clean through my chest, right here."

Naruto placed his hand to the right of his heart.

"H-how... How are you still alive?" Harry looked stunned at this sudden honesty; the ninja had all been very cagey about their pasts since they had arrived.

"I have some rather... unique qualities," said Naruto, abruptly worried that he had said too much. "You can't tell anyone about this, Harry. I'm telling you because I reckon you can keep your mouth shut, okay?" Harry nodded. "Good... and you mustn't think badly of Sasuke either, life messed him up in its own crazy ways."

From the sceptical look on Harry's face Naruto knew he'd find this last request the hardest.

"Trust me, I got my revenge." Naruto smiled brightly but his eyes were sad.

"How can you... love him?" Harry seemed to stumble over the words and Naruto saw that it was difficult for him to talk about this topic.

Naruto took a moment to think the question through.

"Love doesn't need reasons does it? But I guess... he needed me to love him. I'd always known he needed a friend and was determined to be that for him and then love just sort of... happened."

"I don't think Malfoy needs any more loving. He's surrounded by people ready to do his bidding," said Harry bitterly.

"That's got nothing to do with love. Sasuke reckons Malfoy could do with a real friend rather than those thugs he's got hanging around."

Harry was quiet for a long moment, staring into the fire again.

"You trust him, don't you?"

"With my life."

"Trust doesn't 'just happen'," said Harry sadly.

"No," Naruto agreed, his face sober. "He had to earn my trust once he came home. If there's one thing Sasuke is, it's patient. He never pushed me to accept him and I'm glad. Despite the fact that I had confessed my feelings for him, I was not really ready to have them returned. We rebuilt our relationship very slowly and over time I began to trust him, as did most of the other ninja."

"'Most' of them?" Harry queried tentatively.

"There were some who doubted the decision to promote Sasuke through our ranks. Some thought it was unwise to give him any sort of freedom fearing he would run off again. But most saw that keeping him caged would be more likely to encourage that, than prevent it. I think they trusted that I would keep him in check."

Naruto stood up with a yawn.

"We should get some sleep. I'll relay your suspicions to Sasuke but, you should know, we are keeping pretty tight tabs on him. Malfoy himself had detention yesterday so he couldn't have done anything, in person at least."

Harry nodded and stood to follow. As they headed up the spiralling stairs Harry paused, his hand on Naruto's arm.

"Thank you, Naruto, you're a good friend."

Naruto beamed at him and then, without warning, he jumped at Harry giving him a strong hug. Harry shifted awkwardly as Naruto's forearm protector dug into his shoulder.

**-0-**

Sasuke looked up in surprise as a student tapped him on the shoulder. He frowned for a moment while the gawky looking boy shifted uncomfortably, looking around at the green and silver hangings. Then he recognised the chakra signature.

_"Naruto? What's with the henge?" _ he said quietly.

_"Needed to talk to you, can we get out of here? I don't much like the idea of being underneath all that water..."_

He glanced up at the ceiling again and Sasuke nodded and followed him out of the Slytherin common room. Naruto made for a nearby classroom but Sasuke didn't really feel like spending any more time in the dungeons than was strictly necessary. The only reason he hung around the common room in the evenings was to wait for Draco. Instead they took a path out of the dungeons, up the marble staircase and, with the help of a couple of Harry's shortcuts, into one of the more deserted areas of the castle.

Naruto recognised the corridor as the one that he had travelled along with Harry the other night. He stood by the window where Draco had sat, alone, and released the henge.

Sasuke stepped up behind him running a hand up his lover's back to his shoulder. He let his fingers twine in the soft hair at Naruto's nape and heard the young man sigh.

_"Harry is bothered by where this mysterious necklace came from."_

_"He is not the only one."_

_"He believes Malfoy had something to do with it."_

Naruto turned and sat on the windowsill. Sasuke pondered this for a moment.

_"Does he have proof? Or is this simply because he does not like Draco?"_

Naruto scowled. _"'Draco' is he?"_

_"Yes, Naruto."_

Sasuke placed a cool hand to Naruto's cheek and tilted his face upwards. He stared long and hard into those deep blue eyes. For once they were difficult to read but Sasuke saw from the set of his shoulders that he was tense and guarded.

_"I thought I had your trust by now, my love."_

Naruto nodded, his eyes slipping shut. _"You do."_

_"Draco has become a friend of sorts. I told you, those mindless buffoons Crabbe and Goyle are useless. Pansy is only after his money and even Blaise would sell his own mother if it was worth his while. He is in need of friends."_

Naruto smiled at him and placed a hand on his partner's chest. _"Why Sasuke I do believe you've grown a heart."_

_"Hn... I think you're rubbing off on me."_

_"About time too."_

Sasuke relaxed as Naruto pulled him into his arms. Naruto was tired, they all were; stranded in a foreign country, waiting around for threats to reveal themselves. Sasuke felt impatience flare through him and he knew the others must feel the same. And Harry thought Draco knew something did he?

_"Why does Harry suspect Draco?"_

Naruto sighed into Sasuke's robes. _"You're right, he has no proof, but the boy's instincts are good. We all know Draco is up to something and it's unlikely to be anything good."_ He paused, unsure of how much he should reveal of what he had gleaned from Harry. _"Harry is worried about him. They may be rivals but he doesn't want to see Draco in real trouble."_

Sasuke nodded slowly and Naruto knew his choice of words had not gone unnoticed. He and Sasuke were 'rivals' after all.

Naruto pulled himself up, taking Sasuke's hands in his own. Beautiful, dark eyes watched him steadily, long lashes fluttering as Sasuke blinked slowly. Naruto wondered when exactly he had earned such trust from the proud Uchiha. It already seemed to have existed when Sasuke had consented to come back to the village. Maybe it wasn't so strange, after all he, Naruto, had never done anything to betray Sasuke. Still, Sasuke had been betrayed by Itachi and since then he wasn't the sort to trust easily.

_"Why do you trust me?"_

_"You are a trustworthy person," _Sasuke answered evenly.

Satisfied with his answer Naruto leaned forward and brushed his lips against Sasuke's sharp cheekbone. First one side and then the other, lingering to savour the subtle warmth of his skin. He continued to place delicate kisses along his jaw and down his neck pausing at Sasuke's collarbone to take in his partner's scent. That unique scent the only Sasuke possessed.

He thought he felt the Kyuubi stir and knew, it too was enjoying seeing the Uchiha so docile. Ever since Sasuke had entered his mind the Uchiha's smell in particular had had a peculiar effect on the beast.

Naruto nuzzled his lover's neck and Sasuke tilted his head allowing him better access. His hands had moved to grip broad shoulders as Naruto's settled at the small of his back. Sasuke shivered when Naruto's mouth moved upwards and his tongue darted out, caressing the shell of his ear. When the Gryffindor boy took the lobe between his lips Sasuke tightened his grip, afraid his knees might buckle.

_"I love seeing you like this," _Naruto breathed. _"It gets me every time."_

They leant against the window pane and exchanged long kisses and unhurried touches. Whatever Sasuke said about Naruto being a trustworthy person, it had taken a long time for them to be together like this and these moments were still rare. Right now they were together completely, open and honest.

**-0-**

Out on the frozen lawn an intruder watched the duo with interest, through vivid Sharingan eyes. An unusual pairing he thought. He pondered for a moment the effect it might have on his plans. He frowned; it shouldn't change anything but still... it would prove to be troublesome if Sasuke were too devoted to this boy. He wished, not for the first time that Konoha had not allowed the Uchiha to join their ANBU ranks, the secrecy surrounding the sect had made it difficult to keep an eye on him, but perhaps that had been their plan all along. Turning away, the dark figure disappeared from the castle grounds in a flurry of snow.

**-0-**

Sasuke strode through the school, on his way back to the common room, full of purpose. It was late by now and the corridors were deserted. He had stayed with Naruto for a long time; Draco should be heading back soon. Sasuke stationed himself in an alcove near the entrance to the Slytherin common room, hidden in the shadows.

After what felt like an age of waiting he began to worry that Draco had turned in early. Just as he began to formulate a backup plan that involved kidnapping the boy from their dormitory he heard uneven footsteps. The shuffling gait made him think of the school caretaker but Filch rarely ventured into the dungeon levels.

Sure enough, as the footsteps neared, Sasuke spotted his housemate. Draco looked exhausted and Sasuke had to push away pity as he dragged the boy forcefully into the alcove. Draco struggled briefly but his efforts were weak and he gave in quickly, giving Sasuke a tired glare. He was dishevelled and bore little resemblance to the immaculately turned out young man that Sasuke had observed at the start of the year.

"Where have you been?"

Draco scoffed and muttered something that sounded like "Nosy bastard!"

Sasuke tightened his grip on Draco's wand arm and leant in closer, crowding the boy.

"If you won't tell me willingly I can always resort to less savoury methods to extract the information from you, " Sasuke hissed, letting his eyes bleed red.

A flicker of fear crossed Draco's features before his eyes went abruptly blank and he jutted his chin proudly. "Try it! I dare you," he spat.

Never one to back down from a challenge Sasuke summoned the Mangekyou Sharingan into his eyes, feeling them burn as his irises changed. Draco met his gaze stubbornly and... nothing happened. Sasuke felt a shock as his doujutsu hit the impenetrable block on Draco's mind.

Relief crossed Draco's features when he realised his mind was safe. He sneered at Sasuke. "Ha! I knew that would stump you. Never come across an Occlumens before, have you?"

Sasuke let the Sharingan retreat from his eyes and made a note to look up the strange term. For now though...

"I have other methods of making you talk."

Sasuke felt the boy's pulse in his wrist speed up as he pressed a kunai to Draco's neck. He was staring at Sasuke as though he were, only now, seeing him for the first time and Sasuke supposed he was. They were crossing a line here, with Sasuke revealing his intentions. Draco would not mistake him for a Japanese ambassador again. Sasuke was already considering the measures he would need to take if he did not discover Draco's secret tonight. Could he make the boy forget this encounter if his Sharingan was being guarded against?

"Y-you're insane!" spluttered Draco, attempting to shrink away from the kunai into solid wall.

Sasuke shifted his grip from the boy's wrist to his hand. "I will break your fingers one by one until you tell me exactly how and why you are planning to murder Harry Potter."

Draco looked shocked at this. Sasuke considered whether he looked, perhaps, a little too shocked. He took one of Draco's fingers in his hold, jolting him into speech.

"Murder Harry? Merlin's beard! That's not... what the..?" Draco gaped at him for a moment before Sasuke's dangerous grip on his finger forced him to attempt composure. "I am by no means intending to murder Harry Potter, you absolute lunatic!"

"Then what is you've been up to all year that keeps you so busy?"

"That is none of your business!" Draco's voice cracked as Sasuke pressed the kunai closer.

"You can hardly expect me to believe that you don't mean Potter harm then, can you?"

Draco's face was anguished now. "I would never hurt him! You must trust me!"

"I didn't think trust was in the Slytherin vocabulary," Sasuke replied scathingly.

"Well neither is love!"

The pair of them stood frozen, pressed against the cold stone. Sasuke's mind processed Draco's words, furiously turning them over in his mind while the angry flush drained from Draco's face to be replaced with a ghostly pallor as he realised what he had just let slip.

"I... I mean..." he tried in vain but Sasuke interrupted him.

"You love him," he said simply.

Draco was panicking by now. "No! Of course... I mean... no... Oh I don't know!" he cried in frustration. "It's complicated... difficult to know. But I don't want him dead, that's for damn sure, so will you please unhand me!"

Sasuke cautiously stepped back, placing his kunai back in a concealed holster. Draco gave the blade a last curious look.

"Who _are_ you?"

"I can't tell you that, especially as I still regard you as a suspicious person."

"Speak for yourself," said Draco giving him a contemptuous once over. "Does Dumbledore know he has an armed madman running around Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered shortly.

"Typical, that old codger." Draco looked thoughtful for a moment and Sasuke felt the regret over his actions rising. "So you're here to protect precious Harry Potter then? I'm guessing your Japanese friends are in on it and... bloody hell, that new teacher too?"

Sasuke didn't answer, he knew nothing he could say would prevent Draco from knowing the truth now. He had said too much.

"Were you ever actually my friend?"

Sasuke looked up in surprise; he hadn't been expecting that.

"Yes. I still consider you my friend, although I expect you no longer feel the same."

Draco scowled at him. "What sort of friend spies on and threatens the other?"

"It was necessary. I'm afraid I am not allowed to tell you any more than that."

"No I don't suppose you are. Then you should know I am also not allowed to share details with you, all I can say is that I have no intention of harming a hair on Harry Potter's scarred head."

"Then we are in agreement?"

Draco nodded slowly. "I'll keep your secrets, if you'll keep mine."

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, wanna take a guess at who's standing out in the snow? I'm planning the reveal for next chapter but it might take a little longer than this one. Not two years I hope... ^^; Thank you, by the way, everyone who still reads and reviews this story, I really appreciate it!

-Yasu


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